


The Haruno Clan

by orphan_account



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Haruno Sakura, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, Ghosts, Haruno Sakura-centric, Humour, Reincarnation, Strong Female Characters, Strong Haruno Sakura, alternative universe, and rin being an advocate of mental health literacy and therapy!!!, did i say ghosts? because ghosts, or an attempt at it lmao, sakura's clan said fuck canon, totally forgot to add that whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22308028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Sakura loved her clan. Sure, they're a little strange, what with their divination, their strange tongues, strange clothes and even stranger foods. Sure, her cousins kept trying to keep her away from the Uchiha kid (which they promise isn't them being prejudiced) while practically adopting the Uzumaki kid. Sure, they sometimes accidentally spilled S-class village secrets that no one, much less civilians, should know. And sure, they kept insisting on giving her training sessions from hell.But family is family, right?
Comments: 88
Kudos: 425





	1. A death, a birth

The Haruno clan members considered themselves to be a clan of people bestowed with gifts, although not in the sense most people would think. Some clan members saw spirits or saw visions of the future, which they called the gift of sight. Those that were capable of speaking in strange tongues unfamiliar to anyone except their fellow clan members had what they called the gift of sound. Those who conceived of and created otherworldly tools, clothes, or gadgets had the gift of touch. Finally, those who made foods unlike anything else in all the Great Lands had the gift of taste. 

At first, members of the clan believed it to be their _kekkei genkai_ , but their abilities were too diverse to truly be considered one. The decision to simply refer to these abilities as gifts was decided sometime afterwards. Somewhere in their lineage a clan head had them swear to never use their gifts to kill (it was rumoured to be because this clan head could interact with the dead.) Sometime after they began monetizing their skills, especially by way of their teas rooms which would later earn them a reputation.

As a civilian clan, the Haruno flew under the radar of most ninja in Fire Country. However, to many civilians, particularly merchants and those passionate about the occult, the clan became well-known. The clan was scattered across the Fire Country, with families of ten or so each opening up tea rooms. For a small fee, one could come into a quaint, plush room inviting conversation, relaxation, and depending on the Haruno clan member, a vision of your future or a chance to speak to a dead loved one. 

As the years went by, the clan was able to afford a large plot of land in a small, traditional farming town a few hours west of the bustling village of Konoha. This land would become the Haruno's own compound. More importantly, it became the site of their most famous and popular tea rooms. Instead of building an estate typical to ones already in the town, it was decided to build a home designed by Akemi Haruno, who was known in the clan for his gift of touch. His building design was unlike anything seen by the townspeople. For one, the building was tall, shooting up to three stories. The first floor of the building kept the tea rooms, where there stood seven tea rooms in total. The rest of the floors housed the members of the clan, each family taking their own apartment.

At first, the townspeople were somewhat horrified by their new neighbour, what with their alien building and strange practices. As time went on, however, the townspeople began to appreciate the many visitors the clan brought as result of their famous tearooms and strange inventions. It helped their small economy considerably, and soon most townspeople could afford to live comfortably without needing to make early morning journeys to Konoha to trade their goods.

One afternoon, Rie Haruno, a clan member with no discernible gifts, found herself watching her cousin's Akira's tearoom while he stepped away for a moment to check on his wife and newborn. It was late afternoon, a time of day that he promised was slow.

"And even if a customer arrived, just bullshit like you used to," Akira told her as he left the room.

She would have been offended if he wasn't telling the truth. Rie's father could see spirits, her mother was able to pick up on any emotion someone was feeling, and her older brother Akemi thought up and actually made unimaginable creations, but her and her younger brother Kizashi had no gifts. Kizashi decided to move to Konoha to become a ninja, while she made use of her skills in manipulation and deception a little differently than him. The combination of skills made tea reading an easy art. What Rie would do was hang around the waiting room with the intent of eavesdropping on customers to discover personal information about them. Whatever information she gathered, she later incorporated it into her tea reading. Sometimes in the leaves she would find a bear (expect a long period of travel), a bouquet (expect a happy marriage), or an umbrella (expect annoyance or trouble your way). No matter what, her customers would always buy her bullshit. They would leave satisfied most of the time (for the hell of it, she sometimes gave a bad reading). These were all readings that her cousins and aunts and uncles could have easily given with more veracity than she could possibly conjure up.

Only when her daughter Momo was born did Rie begin to feel ashamed for her dishonesty. To the surprise of her clan members (especially the ones who caught wind of her lies and actually fought to shut down her tea room), Rie quit tea reading and began a career as a seamstress for the clan. It didn't bring her nearly as much money, but it was an honest job. She felt that she owed at least that much to her daughter. 

"You got twenty minutes, Akira," she muttered darkly to herself. Then because the Gods must have hated her, a man in a strange mask waltzed into the room demanding a tea reading. Swearing quietly to herself, she began the tea reading.

Rie poured the cup of tea, instructing the man to drink half. The masked man inspected the cup before obliging. His caution meant that he was likely a ninja, and a good one at that if one look was all it took for him to tell if the drink was poisoned or not. She shook the cup and drained the remaining liquid into another cup that had three tea leaves. At this point, she was supposed to find an image or pattern in the tea leaves and shoot off a reading. When she was giving fake readings, she used incorporate any information she found out while spying on her guests and manipulated them into hearing what they wanted to hear. This time though, she looked up at the masked man seated across from her, stared into his visible red eye, and something like a vision seized her. She was suddenly babbling out his entire life like a prophecy. She only stopped when he grabbed her by the neck and squeezed until her heart stopped beating. 

For two weeks, the Haruno tea rooms were closed to the public while the clan figured out what happened to their dear Rie, and what to do about the ten-year-old girl she left behind. Little Momo had no idea who her father was, nor did the clan. Rie one day just showed up to the compound pregnant and refused to even acknowledge a second party’s involvement. Some of the ruder, gossipy aunties had the gall to wonder aloud if perhaps little Momo’s father was furious about his lack of involvement in his daughter’s life and decided to take out the reason for it. It would be a matter of time before he would take poor Momo away from them, they clucked. That led to one of the most intense family arguments the clan had ever seen. 

The second intense family argument was centred on what to do with little Momo. Clan members who could see the dead wanted her away from the compound, worried that she develop the gift of sight and begin to see her mother's ghost. Others, especially those lacking the gift of sight, believed that would actually be good for the child. Some worried that whoever killed her mother would try to come from her, too—or worse, attack the compound. Eventually the matter got settled. The clan beefed up their security, and Kizashi, Rie's youngest brother, took Momo in. Kizashi and his wife had recently bought a house that would have more than enough room for the little girl.

The clan also hoped the relocation would help the girl's grieving process. The child did not cry when told of the news of her mother's murder, nor did tears fall during the funeral. She continued as though the entire thing did not happen. In fact, one would think she believed her mother to still be alive with the way she acted. Clan members more acquainted with the idea of death as result of their gift of sight suggested that perhaps she was in the beginning stages of acquiring the gift. After all, those with the gift of sight naturally saw death not as a horrible tragedy, but simply as a natural outcome for everyone. Still, the girl's uncles, Akemi and Kizashi, fretted and fussed over here, but eventually left her alone to grieve at her own pace.

It was seven weeks after her mother's murder that Momo was relocated to Konoha. On the day of her departure, there was a large circle of family surrounding the girl. There were aunts shoving lists of things from Konoha that they need sent to them, little cousins tugging at Momo’s shirt begging her not to leave, and uncles cracking jokes. When the trio finally arrived to Konoha, they gave Momo a chance to settle into her new room, and to familiarize herself with her new home. When it was finally time for dinner, it wqs a quiet affair. More used to the loud, boisterous family dinners back at the clan compound, Momo decided to make conversation by telling her aunt that food she prepared was delicious. That earned her a snort from her uncle. 

“Me,” he chuckled, pointing at himself. “I cooked this, Momo-chan.” 

“Looks like someone needs to brush up on their divination skills,” her aunt joked. 

At her uncle's pained look and her aunt’s confused one, Momo realized that the former was unaware about what actually happened to her mother.

“I guess so,” Momo said. “But, you know, aunt Mebuki, I’m kind of like uncle Kizashi, I don’t really have any gifts.”

A few weeks later, when Mebuki announced that she was pregnant, they came to realize that Momo actually had a gift, too: the gift of sight. While looking at Mebuki’s stomach, a vision seized her of a child, who had wide forehead, green eyes, and pink hair. Another vision of the the girl, now older and stronger, but still feeling weak and left behind by two figures Momo could not see. A third vision, but this time, the girl, now a mother herself, was raising her daughter alone. Momo fought back the urge to spill out all the details regarding the girl, nearly choking on her own tongue in the process. Her aunt made a move towards her, but Momo regained her composure and waved her away.

“You’re pregnant with a little girl who will have pink hair and green eyes,” she said. “You'll name her Sakura.” 

* * *

"What do you mean they'll be here _for an entire week?_ "

The one thing that Mebuki hated about her husband was his utter lack of communication when came to his clan. She understood it intellectually, yes, that after years of growing up being ridiculed and having women literally run away after learning so much of a small grain of detail about the weird things his clan did, Kizashi would clam up about them. It was hard to grow out of years of that, Mebuki understood that much. But that did not mean he could just spring that same weird shit onto her and expect her to just roll with it.

Momo stared at Mebuki, then at Kizashi. Then, as if to echo how Mebuki felt in that moment, the young girl sighed. "You didn't tell her, did you?"

Kizashi shrugged sheepishly.

In addition to being a clan known for their divination, the Haruno was a clan known for its celebrations, specifically celebrations of births. To them, births were the most sacred moments in a person's life. As such, when new additions to the clan arrived or a member reached another year on the earth, they celebrated. At times it was to a ridiculous degree, but the celebration was not a celebration unless one put their all into it. So when Mebuki gave birth to a baby girl she named Sakura (she tried and failed to ignore what Momo told her nine months prior), she prayed for the best when the news came that her husband's _entire clan_ would come to them to celebrate.

At first they requested her to come to their compound, but she refused explaining her worries that her newborn could not handle that kind of trip just yet. When they accepted that reasoning, she thought she was out of their hair for at least until Sakura turned one. Then, Kizashi received a letter indicating the clan would simply go to them. All fifty-nine of them.

"We can only house six people at most, Kizashi!" Mebuki exclaimed. " _Six!_ We can't fit sixty of them!"

"Fifty-nine, actually," Kizashi replied. At her annoyed look he flashed her a sheepish smile.

Momo frowned. "How are they going to get through border patrol?"

"They're a non-ninja clan, so it should be fine."

"I don't understand why we need to do this anyway," Mebuki grumbled. "I mean I'm flattered they want to meet her, but do they _all_ have to?"

"It's a clan thing, honey. I'm sorry." He sighed. "We can just find them all hotels, I'm sure it'll be fine."

They don't find them hotels; rather the clan decided to take residence in their backyard. The home, to be sure, was humble. The backyard, however, bled into one the many expansive forest clearing home to the village. The clan managed to squeeze its fifty or so members in this backyard, decorating the grassy field in large conical tents made of animal skins and wooden poles. While they were setting up the tents, Momo and Mebuki stepped outside to watch. 

"They're beautiful," Mebuki murmured in wonder. She'd never seen anything like it.

Momo shook her head. "They killed too many rabbits for this!"

“Shut up, you tree-hugger!” Someone cried out. 

Momo made a noise of protest. Mebuki smiled. Maybe things wouldn’t be too bad. 

The actual birth celebration took a week of preparation. On Monday, all the women of the clan went into the markets of Kohana, haggling for cheaper prices on foods, drinks, and clothes. On Tuesday, the children and teens of the clan went into the forests, collecting flowers and herbs. On Wednesday, the elders decorated the Kizashi and Mebuki home in twinkling lights. On Friday, the men of the clan head to the backyard, compiling long picnic tables together. On Saturday, the elders of the clan took residence in the kitchen, preparing the ceremonial meals.

Finally on Sunday, precisely a week after Sakura was born, the ceremony began. Mebuki cradled the sleepy-eyed baby in her arms, and headed downstairs where she was greeted the house was glowing and glittering in hues of pink, green, orange, and yellow. There was the sounds of the laughter of children playing. There's chatter everywhere in languages Mebuki could not understand. People were wearing strangely shaped and strangely patterned garbs.

When Mebuki entered the kitchen, she heard the sizzling of food meeting a heated pan. Incredibly, despite all the cooking that began yesterday evening, there was still cooking left to do. When she looked at the food being cooked, she was unable to recognize what it is. It all smells delicious, though. Before she could steal a taste, she was ushered out of the kitchen quickly and forced into the living room to relax with the older members of the clan. Some wear their hair in intricate braiding patterns she once saw in Kumo, others in styles she has never seen. One took Sakura from her and cradled her back and forth, softly singing in a language that somehow sounded at once nostalgic and foreign to Mebuki. Another took Mebuki's hand and began telling her stories about the clan.

Soon after it was nightfall and the ceremony began.

The elder of the clan, an old bald man with a beard that was a mix of grey and red, took Sakura from Mebuki and placed her in a small wooden cradle. His wife, the kind woman who chatted with Mebuki until nightfall, carried a collection of crushed flowers and plants—carnation, chrysanthemum, cypress, honeysuckle, lemongrass—and sprinkled it over Sakura. A petal tickled Sakura's nose and she sneezed.

Mebuki looked to Kizashi for an explanation. "For protection," he whispered. 

An older auntie walked over carrying a glass bottle with clear liquid and dropper. She dropped precisely three drops on Sakura's forehead.

"So she may move onto this life with a clean slate," came Kizashi's unprompted explanation.

The clan elder spoke again, placing a hand on Sakura's forehead. "May you live a long life."

"May you live a long life!" shouted the clan back to him. 

Then came the actual celebration. Unfamiliar melodies were played on strange instruments. Members of the clan twisted and twirled in dances Mebuki could only watch in awe. And the _food_. Oh, the food was incredible, and Mebuki had to remind herself to ask for recipes. By the end of the night, they received three warnings from three different Uchihas regarding disorderly conduct and noise pollution. Ordinarily Mebuki would have been horrified, but she was having too much fun to care.

The following morning to Mebuki's great surprise, everyone was already packing up to leave. Mebuki found herself already missing the clan members and their constant presence in their home. It certainly made dealing with a newborn easier. If Sakura made so much as a peep, there would be someone there ready to help her. It was nice. So when it was finally time to wave the fifty-nine member strong clan off, and children of Kizashi’s older brother were begging him to let them stay, Mebuki was not entirely opposed.

"Uncle Kizashi has lots of space, he's got, like, ten bedrooms and Aki and Momo can share!"

"They have better schools here! C’mon dad, you want us to be stupid?” 

"We can help keep Momo safe!"

"She can't deal with the cultural shock here, she's basically a country bumpkin!"

"We can help uncle Kizashi and auntie Mebuki with little Sakura! Y'know, raising a child is difficult for new parents!"

"I wouldn't be againt to it," Mebuki said with a smile. She ignored her husband’s look of shock.

Eventually, they give in, letting the two stay.

"If the twins are as so much as a bother, Kizashi," Akemi said with a serious look. "Send them back immediately."

Mebuki smiled at them. She wass not like them with their divination, nor does she really believe in it to be honest, but something told her that this was the right choice to make.

* * *

People liked to call Arata an airhead, but it wasn't his fault. He was like his father. He liked to make new things, and sometimes people said things that led him to think about other things, and then all of a sudden he was remembering a very, very, _very_ useful object. And then he had to write it down _right now_ or else he would forget it (and if he forgot it, it would bother him for the rest of the day.) Then he would realize the thing he remembered doesn’t actually exist, so he had to figure out how to make it. So sometimes in the middle of a conversation he would just tune the person speaking out to catch that stray idea or stray vision of a thing he's known his entire life, but has never seen before. Like he was doing right now. 

"Arata?"

He felt a nudge.

"Arata, you there?"

He felt a flick to his forehead.

"Heellooooo?"

He blinked. "Huh? Yeah?"

Momo sighed. "I was asking you a question."

"Ah," he nodded. "Yeah?"

"Yes? You'll do it?" Momo looks surprised.

He doesn't have the heart to say that he wasn’t listening, so he just smiled and nodded. 

"Thanks, Arata, you're the best!" Momo handed him a bundle of blankets and disappeared. He looked down and realized that bundle was Sakura.

"Momo just swindled me into babysitting you, didn't she?" 

In his arms, Sakura giggled. 

"Right, Sakura-chan?" Arata cooed at her. "Momo is evil. Pure evil!"

* * *

Death clung to Aki like burrs. Well, that wasn't exactly right. Rather, dead people clung to Aki. Her appearance did not help her case, either. Unlike her twin brother with his tan skin, sea green eyes and pale red curly hair, she has deathly pale skin with wispy, long black hair and eyes a dark, muddy sort of green. Her cousins liked to joke that because she looked like death, of course death would follow her. Ghosts, even when she pretended she could not see or hear them, flocked her. Some wanted her to help them pass on, others just wanted to mess with her. Aki was most fascinated by the ones that clung to the people that couldn't see them. So when she saw a girl with short brown hair and brown eyes and purple markings on her face following a guy with sad eyes—well, one sad eye—and grey hair, curiosity got the best of her. 

The ghost girl walked, or rather floated, a meter behind the man. Aki crossed between them and stared up at the girl. The brown-haired girl stared back at her with a curious look. Aki waited until she could no longer see the grey-haired man before she turned to the girl and asked, “You’re, uh, dead, right?”

The girl nodded. Good. Aki hated breaking the news to the unknowing ghosts; it always broke her heart.

"Why haven't you moved on yet?"

The girl pointed to the direction where the man had gone.

"Do you need to tell him something?"

The girl nodded. 

"Do you want me to help you?"

The girl stared at Aki for a long, long time. When she finally spoke, she had the most breathtaking smile Aki's had ever seen. "Yes."

They talked until sunset. Aki learned the girl was named Rin and the man she was following killed her. It was for good reason, Rin assured her. Aki also learned that Rin has another teammate, who supposedly died before her, but she couldn't seem to find him all. Rin had a theory as to why, but did not share. Aki promised to keep an eye out for him when they part, promising to meet again tomorrow at noon. Aki still didn't really know the reason why Rin insisted on staying and not passing on.

"She will tell me when she's ready," she murmured to herself. 

"Who are you talking to?" Aki jumped, twisting around to see her cousin Momo staring curiously at her. "Well?"

_"A ghost."_

Momo flinched. "T—that's not funny, Aki!"

Aki chuckled, linking arms with Momo and steering them in the direction of home. A comfortable silence fell between them until Momo asked, "Why do you insist on speaking that language, anyway?"

 _"Why don't you speak it? It's your heritage, too,"_ Aki replied. 

_"That and, like, ten other languages our clan speaks, most of which I don't even understand,"_ Momo muttered. _"What's with this clan anyway? Seeing dead people"—_ Aki stuck her tongue at her for that _—_ _"psychics, and weird languages. It's like we're cursed."_ Momo stroked her chin thoughtfully with her free hand. _"Well, not totally cursed. I'd say we have the best foods."_

Aki nodded in agreement, half listening. In the corner of her eye, she saw a tall figure watching them curiously.

 _"There's a man staring at us,"_ she mumbled. When Momo turned her head to look she nudges her. _"Don't look. Don't bring attention to us. Let's stop talking in this language, OK?"_

_"Why? What's the deal?"_

When the man disappeared, Aki let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

* * *

After dinner, Momo, Arata, and Aki retreated into the fields behind the Haruno home, settling in one of the tents an auntie insisted on leaving for Kizashi and Mebuki. Momo made them all ginger tea.

"Ginger tea? Really?" Aki said with a soft laugh. Ginger represented many things. It meant beauty, love and wealth. But most importantly it means power and success.

"S—shut up! We need all the good energy we can get," Momo scowled at her. "Anyway, we're meeting because of the vision I had a while ago about Sakura. We have to do something about."

Arata slurped his tea loudly. Both Aki and Momo stared at him in disgust.

"Anyway," Momo continued. "She's going to become a ninja."

"Like uncle and auntie?" Arata smiled. "Cool!"

Aki frowned. "Does this mean she doesn't have a gift like uncle? Is that why she'll become a ninja?"

Momo shrugged. "Dunno. But the thing is she's going to pretty much suck at being a ninja until she gets an apprenticeship with, uh, you know those mountain guys?"

"Mountain guys?" Arata chuckled. "You mean Hokages? Do you even pay attention in class, Momo?"

"I just forgot what they're called!" Momo huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Anyway, the relative of one of them is going to teach her and she'll be a really badass medic, but before then she'll be pretty weak. That's where we'll come in. I won't have my baby cousin's future squandered because she has a shitty teacher."

"Who's her teacher?" Aki asked.

"Uh, some man with a mask and one eye," Momo replied. "I can't remember his name right now, but he's really powerful and he pretty much ignores her for her other teammates. We got to stop that."

For some reason, Aki felt like she met him before. She shrugged off that feeling.

"I've been meaning to read up on the ninja arts, and aunt Mebuki has a great collection," Arata said. "I'm in."

Aki nodded. "Me too."

"There's also one other thing," Momo said solemnly. "She'll end up with a guy named Sasuke and have a kid named Salad. He's—that guy is _awful._ We have to stop it at all costs."

Arata and Aki shared a look. "Salad?"

"Salad," Momo echoed gravely. "He doesn't even stay to raise her, Sakura pretty much raised her alone."

An unspoken promise to keep Sakura away from Sasuke at all costs passed between the three.


	2. A loss, a find

Arata hated being alone. Even though he ignored most people he talked to because his head was always stuck in the clouds, he actually enjoyed the company of others. He did, after all, come into this world with someone already by his side. Beyond that, his clan with their fifty-nine members meant that he was never alone. But after seven years in Konoha, he came to realize just how alone he actually was.

All he had was his sister, Momo, his aunt and uncle, and Sakura. He found that he was having less and less opportunities to engage with any of them, even little Sakura. His sister was doing that thing twins sometimes did and decided to establish her independence from him (plus, she was doing something with some ghosts, but he tuned her out at that point because that made him think about a movie he swore he saw about four men fighting ghosts.) Momo, who made it her personal mission to “save” Sakura, dragged their little cousin away to try to train her at every free moment (never mind the fact that Sakura was only seven-years-old, Momo was a civilian with no background in the ninja arts.) His uncle and aunt began taking long-term missions away from the village again, so they weren’t home too often. 

Everyone had something meaningful to do, except _him_. Sure, he was helping out with their ten-step operation to save Sakura, but his role didn’t keep him as busy as whatever Momo did (if he was being honest, she was taking her role a little too seriously) or even Aki (who was also helping ghosts or something). Even worse, no new ideas came to him. He felt utter restless and useless. The few ideas of a gadget or tool he thought up, he simply lacked the skills and knowledge to develop it. Since he had arrived to Konoha, the most he could conjure up was strange movie ideas. It also didn’t help that it was summer break. He didn’t even have his boring assignments to keep him occupied. When Aki finally got tired of him moping around the house, she suggested he take time to explore the village.

"Maybe that'll conjure up an idea or two," she offered.

So off he went, exploring different parts of the village. He decided that today he would explore some of the markets. When he arrived at a fruit stand, he spotted a young boy with blonde hair attempting to purchase some oranges from a short, old man. The boy was no older than Sakura. The fruit stand owner was refusing the boy's money for some reason.

“Excuse me,” he said, walking over to them. “What's going on here?" 

“I’m not accepting money from a demon!” the fruit stand owner spat, sending the little boy a glare.

The kid flinched. 

“Demon? What—” Arata broke off, his brows furrowed. This kid was familiar. He snapped his fingers, and stared down at the young boy with a bright smile. “Ichigo! You’re Ichigo, right?” 

Both the fruit stand man and the boy stared at him. After a beat of silence, the boy meekly said, “N-no, I’m Uzumaki Naruto.” 

“He’s a demon is what he is,” the fruit stand man grumbled. “Now, get away from my stand!" 

Suddenly, Arata remembered what Momo had told him and Aki. A couple of years ago she said she had a vision of Sakura’s teammate, a young boy named Naruto that village treated like a demon because a literal one was sealed inside him. The treatment he got made little sense to both Aki and Arata (wouldn't they be scared of him if he had a demon in him? Or, like, be thankful he was containing the thing that slaughtered a bunch of their villagers?) but they promised Momo that if they saw him they would take care of him. 

“We aren’t likely to find him now since he’s still really young,” Momo said at the time. “But if you guys do find him, we gotta make sure he gets the family he deserves sooner rather than later. Plus, I think he becomes the Hokage later on.” 

It looked like he was now bestowed with that very project of helping young Naruto find a family. The Gods were truly so generous! 

With happy tears shining in his eyes, Arata took a deep breath. “I know what to do!” 

He punched the fruit stand owner square in the face. 

There was another silence.

Arata pulled his fist back, satisfied at the bruise that was forming on the man's face. It was at that moment that he realized the fruit stand man was not simply a short and old man. Well, he was short, and he was old, but the man was also made of several pounds of pure muscle. A small breeze passed through the trio before the man launched himself onto Arata, his fists flying. Arata was knocked to the ground and knocked out cold for a solid minute. He managed to get up in time to pull Naruto away from the fruit stand owner and carry him away.

After running with the young boy slung over his shoulder for what felt like ages, Arata found a dango shop and shuffled them inside. The store was quiet and fairly empty. It was another old man who served them, and both boys flinched when he arrived at their table. This old man seemed decent enough, and didn't make any comments towards Naruto so they stayed. Arata bought Naruto a stick of dango, and the old man, bless his heart, brought Arata some ice for his face.

“You know, mister,” Naruto said, looking up at Arata and wincing slightly at the bumps and bruises decorating the older boy's face. “You really didn’t have to do all that.” 

“That’s what decent people are supposed to do, Naruto,” he said, although with his mouth swollen it came out somewhat slurred. He shifted the ice to his swollen cheek. 

“Y-yeah?” Naruto looked like he was struggling to keep from crying. He wiped his nose. “Hey, what’s your name anyway, mister?” 

“Name’s Arata,” he said with a bright smile. He could taste blood in his mouth. He probably looked very frightening and almost dropped his smile until Naruto beamed back at him. 

_Aw shit,_ he thought. _No turning back now._

An hour and five sticks of dango later, Arata came to learn that Naruto was orphaned, most shopkeepers always gave him a hard time, his favourite person was an old man in long robes that smoked a lot (was he talking about the current Hokage?), and that he always had masked men and women keeping a distant watch on him. The kid talked a mile a minute, but Arata couldn’t help but smile brightly at him the entire time. 

“It’s getting late,” Arata said once Naruto wrapped up a story of how he pranked his rude landlord. At the boy’s crestfallen look, he quickly added, “You want to join me for dinner? I’m going to be making curry for my sister and cousins.” 

“Dinner?” Naruto adorably stroked his chin thoughtfully. Then a sad look came over him. “B-but what if they don’t like me?” 

“They’ll like you, Naruto. I promise,” Arata felt his heart squeeze. “My sister’s a little scary looking though, I don’t know if you’re brave enough to handle that.” 

“What?!” Naruto whipped his head up at him. “I’m totally brave enough!” 

* * *

“OK!” Momo pumped her fist in the air once whatever the thing she had set up on the training field was ready. “Sakura-chan, this machine is going to launch a kunai at you. You need to either dodge, or launch it back this way. Then, more will be added and the speed of the projectile will be increased.” 

Sakura stared at the machine, and then back at her cousin. “Did I do something to you, Momo-nee?” 

“What do you mean?” 

Sakura motioned at the machine. “You’re trying to kill me.” 

“Oh, they’re not real blades,” Momo chuckled. Then she turned the machine on. “Not yet anyway. Onward!” 

It was just a blunt wooden kunai being thrown as Sakura, but it still hurt like hell. After a couple of hours, Sakura managed to catch and launch a few straight at Momo (who somehow managed to duck right in time, damn.) But when a wooden kunai smacked the middle of her forehead, Sakura decided then to just let herself fall into the sweet embrace of death. After two minutes of Sakura lying on the grass, Momo shut the machine off. She plopped down next to Sakura.

The young girl sent her cousin a withering glare. “Even my hair feels tired.” 

“You’re doing great, Sakura! Your dodging has gotten really good.” Her cousin beamed at her. 

“My hair,” Sakura repeated. “Even my _hair_ feels _tired_ , Momo-nee. Arata-nii isn’t allowed to make any more training weapons, OK?” 

Momo chuckled at her. They sat in silence, enjoying the small breeze that brushed past them.

When Sakura had enough energy, she sat up with a slight groan. “Why do you train me so hard anyway, Momo-nee?” 

“Because I know you have great potential, Sakura,” she said, her eyes looking a little sad. “And I would hate for it to be wasted just because others can’t see it.” 

Sakura felt her own eyes grow wet. “Let’s go for one more round.” 

“You sure?” 

“No, but let's do it before I change my mind." 

* * *

“This place is beautiful,” Aki breathed. Aki didn’t even know if she was still in Konoha. Rin led her deep into a forest, not stopping until they were at a large forest clearing. A small deer took a look at them before wandering away. Rin floated down onto the lone log in the clearing. 

“No one will bother us here,” Rin said. “Aki-chan, I’ll tell you my story now—my full one, and what I think happened to Obito-kun.” 

Aki buzzed with excitement. It only took seven years, but she was finally, _finally_ going to hear about Rin's real story. For years, Rin said her full story was essentially an S-class secret and that a civilian like Aki would simply get in trouble. She didn't know what finally prompted her to share her full story, but she felt like now she wasn't totally in the dark when it came to helping her grey-haired comrade. Over the years, they tried and failed to get the Kakashi into the various therapy programs offered by the village (this mission, of course, was called GKSDH, or Get Kakashi Some Damn Help), but nothing seemed to work. Worse, he was still taking what amounted to suicide missions for the village. Perhaps now Aki could better support her ghost friend.

Rin's story began with the Third War. At that, Aki realized that Rin should have been in her late twenties or early thirties by now, but she did not look a day over thirteen. Her team, which included the grey-haired man, got attacked during a mission outside the village. As an elaborate scheme to destroy their village, she was taken and was forcibly made into the jinchūriki of the Three Tails. She essentially forced the grey-haired man to kill her to avoid that fate. Her other teammate, she came to learn later, was crushed underneath a boulder and gave the grey-haired man his left eye which carried his clan's dojutsu. 

“I don’t think he ever recovered from that incident,” Rin admitted. “I feel terrible. Before I pass on, I just want to make sure he’ll be OK, Aki-chan. Obito-kun, too. I think he might still be alive. I just need to know that they're both going to be OK.” 

It made Aki think of Momo in a way. That stupid girl acted as though her mother's murder just didn't happen, choosing to instead intently focus on the betterment of everyone but herself. Her and Arata worried time and time again that Momo would just snap, unable to cope with all the feelings she kept tucked inside. Her obsession with helping Sakura, to her at least, seemed like a cry for help. 

Aki blinked back tears. She didn’t even realize she was crying. 

"I think that's enough for now," Rin said. "We can talk about Obito-kun tomorrow." 

"No, no," Aki said, wiping at her eyes. "Please continue, Rin." 

* * *

“Done!” Arata set the final dish on the table, and took a step back to admire their handiwork. He brought his thumb and forefinger together, kissing them before separating. “ _Perfect!_ C’mon Naruto, you try.” 

_“P–per….”_ Naruto gave up trying to pronounce the strange word, opting to instead imitate the gesture Arata did. When he heard the door swing open and voices filling the house, he began to fidget where he stood.

Arata placed a hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “C’mon, you get to sit next to me.” 

A small pink-haired girl dashed into the room, intending to launch herself on Arata, but stopped short when she saw Naruto.

“Oh, hello,” she said brightly, sticking her hand out. “I’m Sakura! You look really familiar. What's your name?” 

Naruto looked down at her hand. At his uncertainty, Sakura began to pull her hand away before he grabbed it. “I–I’m Naruto! W-we're in the same class!” 

“Welcome and nice to get to know you, Naruto-kun!” Sakura shook their joined hands. She took her seat on the other side of Naruto. In a low conspiratorial whisper she added, “It’s great to be able to eat with someone my own age for once.” 

Naruto beamed at her. 

“I’m Momo,” said the girl with short, tousled pale red hair. She took her seat at the head of the table. 

The girl with long, wispy black hair took her seat across from Naruto. She stared at him with an intensity that made him sweat. After a beat of silence, she said, “You’re Ichigo, right?”

Arata and Sakura slapped a palm to their faces. 

“Aki, you—you idiot!” Momo gaped at her. “He literally _just_ said his name is Naruto!” 

“You’re just like Arata-nii, he called me that, too!” Naruto gave Aki a thoughtful stare. “You know, you aren’t as scary-looking as Arata-nii said you were.” 

The tips of Arata’s ears became almost as red as his hair. “Hey now, Naruto! We don’t need to share everything—!” 

“Oh, I’m scary-looking now, am I?” Aki shot him a venomous look. One flick of rice is thrown and suddenly it’s all out food fight in the Haruno household.

When Naruto found himself hiding under the table with Arata, he pulled the older boy into a hug. He whispered a steady stream of thank-you's into Arata’s shoulder.

* * *

Sakura loved her clan. She really did. Whenever she visited the clan compound, she had the time of her life with all her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. She also loved her three cousins that lived with her. Sure, she sometimes wondered about the clothes they wore, the food they ate, languages they spoke, and the gadgets her uncle Akemi and cousin Arata made. And sure, she wondered about the empty spaces that her cousin Aki would talk to, or the dazed expression that would come over Momo. But like her mother told her, when it came to the strangeness of her clan, the best policy was just to roll with it. The answers, they promised, would come when she was a little older. 

That said, the one thing she could not just roll with was her cousin Momo’s weird hang-up regarding the Uchiha clan, or who Sakura would end up marrying. It got worse the moment Sakura began attending the Academy. Sakura didn’t even think about boys that way—OK, so maybe she found _one_ boy who happened to be an Uchiha to be pretty cute and cool, but so did every other girl in her class! It made her wonder if this was some weird psycho—psy— _brain_ thing she was doing to her. She had to remember to ask Ino about it later. Wait, no she couldn’t because they were fighting. 

One day after a particularly intensive training session, her cousin Momo turned to her with uncharacteristically serious voice. Sakura leaned forward, her own face growing serious.

“Sakura,” Momo said.“Promise me you will never marry a man with hair shaped like a duck’s ass.” 

Sakura pushed away from her cousin. “Momo-nee! Be serious!” 

“I am serious, Sakura!” There was tears streaming down her cousin’s face. “Don’t do it, OK? For the sake of your favourite big sister, don’t date until your brain is fully developed. Don’t even look at boys, OK? Girls are fine, though. Sakura, just date girls, OK?” 

“You’re so dramatic, Momo-nee!” Sakura rolled her eyes. 

“I know about, Sasuke.” Her cousin looked haunted. “Sakura, that kid is bad news. You’re a smart, capable and going to be a kick ass kunoichi one day. Yet you’re letting this kid ruin your friendship with your best friend?” 

“You don’t know anything!” Sakura scoffed, getting to her feet and storming off. 

“Sakura!” Momo called after her. “I think you might be ready for The Story.” 

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks.The Story was something a legend in the Haruno clan. From what Sakura gathered, it was about how her father managed to marry her mother. She was always told that she was too young to hear the full story, which was aggravating because it felt like everyday that someone in her clan made vague references about The Story. Even her grandmother mentioned The Story with a starry expression on her face. 

Sakura raced back to her cousin. “You’ll tell me? You swear?” 

“I swear.” 

It took Momo an hour to dish out The Story and after that, Sakura felt her crush on Sasuke dissipate and gained newfound respect for her mother. Not that she would ever tell Momo. 

* * *

There was only one place in Konoha where Itachi found some semblance of peace. When his clashing duties to his clan and village became too much, or when Sasuke became a little too much (like today he kept going on and on about a pink-haired girl he was going to destroy during the next kunai practice his class held) Itachi found solace in the village’s best kept secret: a small dango shop owned by a kindly old man. It was tucked away in the civilian district and so therefore sparsely frequented by ninja (and Itachi knew few civilians), so he always was able to find a moment for just himself to enjoy a little snack and organize his thoughts. 

Today, however, as he awaited his order, he felt six pairs of eyes on him. Seated across from him was a trio of tweens not much older than him. They were staring so intently at him, he felt as though he had no choice to but ask what they wanted. At that, they scrambled to his table. 

The one with short red hair snapped her fingers and there was something like recognition in her eyes. “You’re Byakuya-san, right?” 

Itachi blinked. “No.” 

“Right.” The girl scratched the back of her head. “So, who are you?” 

Itachi blinked again. He looked at her companions and they flashed him a look that said: _Yeah, buddy, we don’t know what to make of her either. At least you don't live with her._

“I am Uchiha Itachi,” he said finally.

“Uchiha?” asked the only boy amongst the trio.

Internally, Itachi sighed sadly. Of course even the civilians were getting swept up in the prejudice directed at his clan. But then all three tweens turned away from him engaged in frantic, hushed whispers. What they were saying, from what he could hear, amounted to gibberish一wait, no, he was only able to pick up the word salad. Why were talking about salad? What did he have to do with salad? They turned back around and gave him very unhinged smiles. Itachi wanted to leave, he really did. But the old man was going to give him not only his favourite order of dango, but also three new flavours for him to try. _Three._

Thankfully, the three tweens just thanked him for his time, and hurried out of the shop. Somehow he felt that would not be the last time he would see them. 

* * *

It was one thing for Sasuke to lose against a girl, it was another matter entirely for him to lose to a girl that came from a _civilian_ family. Sakura had to have been using _something_ to have gotten the top scores during their kana practice. The first thing Sasuke did was try to find out there was information about her clan, but the most he could find about the Haruno clan was that they were basically weirdos obsessed with tea, and that they lived on a compound outside of the village. He was absolutely livid. 

When he told (read: ranted to) his brother Itachi about it, he almost choked when his brother suggested finding out what training regime Sakura had. His brother was so smart, though. It had to be the right decision, so he made his way to the Haruno household (don't ask him how he knows where Sakura lives, he just _does_.) He was stopped by a pair of classmates hiding inside a bush in front of the Haruno home. Or, at least they claimed to be his classmates. The three boys were able his age so were likely his classmates, but Sasuke had no way to confirm because he was a the kind of ninja-in-training who only bothered to learn the names of strong people.

"What do you want?" Sasuke grumbled. 

"You're here for the test of courage, right?" one boy asked. "You can do it with us!" 

Sasuke frowned. "What test of courage?" 

"There's a rumour that a witch that lives in that house," another boy said. "Ghosts, too. If you're here at sunset, and you knock on the door three times, the witch will come out. If you can face her, you'll be the bravest kid in our class!" 

"You can wait with us," the third boy said. 

"I'm not waiting until sunset," Sasuke said. "I'm going." 

The boys watched him march off with a starry expression on their faces. Sasuke Uchiha, to them, was truly the coolest kid in their class—now, he would become the bravest, too. What they would never know was that the reason Sasuke would not wait until sunset was because he promised his mother he would be home for dinner _before_ sunset. Sasuke would never go against anything his mother asked him. Although Fukagu was known for his anger, it was nothing compared to when Mikoto got angry. 

He paused at the door of the Haruno household. It looked normal enough. It looked like any modest house in the village, really. Sasuke knocked three times on the door and waited. After a minute, the door slowly creaked opened and revealed a girl about his brother's age. Had her hair been a dark, almost black blue and had her eyes been onyx, the girl could have been mistaken for an Uchiha. Instead, with long, wispy black hair and muddy green eyes, Sasuke could see how kids saw her as a witch. Her all-black outfit did not help things, either.

“Is Sakura here?” he demanded. 

The girl gave him such an intense stare he almost flinched (he obviously didn't because just like his older brother, Sasuke was calm and cool). Then, with an almost pained expression on her face, the girl said: “Your hair really does look like a duck’s ass. I’m sorry, kid.” 

Sasuke felt a vein in his forehead throb. In that moment he felt closer to his father. He was about to give the Haruno a piece of his mind when a brown-haired girl floated up behind her. Not walk, not even shunshin. She just floated. 

Sasuke rubbed his eyes. The girl was still there, and still floating. “What jutsu are you using to float like that?”

The black-haired girl blinked. "What?"

"Not you _—her,"_ Sasuke pointed at the brown-haired girl. "How are you doing that? Can you teach me that jutsu?" 

The dark-haired girl stared at him, then back at the girl behind her. "You can _see_ her?" 

"Obviously!"

"We don't have time for this," the girl said pushing past him. "Rin, get the door. Operation forty-four starts now!" 

The brown-haired girl, presumably Rin, closed the door behind her and floated after the dark-haired girl. 

"Wait!" Sasuke cried, running after them. "Teach me that jutsu, c'mon!" 

"What's your name?" Rin floated next to him.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" he cried proudly. 

Rin had a fond smile on her face. "One of my best friend's is—was an Uchiha." 

"Yeah? Maybe I know him," Sasuke said. 

"Probably not," Rin said, a sad look in her eyes. 

"You don't know that, Rin," the dark-haired girl said, with a sympathetic smile. After a moment, she added, "Oh, I'm Haruno Aki, by the way. That's Haruno-sama to you, though." 

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Anyway," he said to Rin. "Can you teach me that jutsu?" 

"Oh no," Aki breathed, suddenly coming a stop. Both Sasuke and Rin looked up at her. 

Rin gave her a look of concern. "What is it, Aki-chan?"

"Rin, he's—he's _hot,_ " Aki said, fanning herself. "From faraway you think he's just, well, alright. But from this vantage point— _damn!_ Even with that mask on." 

“He’s gotten better with age, hasn’t he?” Rin said with a sigh. Then, as if remembering herself, she gave Aki a stern look. “Aki-chan.” 

“Yeah, I know, Mom.” Aki rolled her eyes. “He’s got a great ass, Rin. I totally see what you saw—see in him.” 

“I don’t get it,” Sasuke said, after a brief moment. 

“There’s nothing to get, Sasuke-kun,” Rin said. “Aki-chan! He’s old enough to be your dad.” 

“Yeah, I’d like to call him dadd—” Aki stopped short, too startled by the death glare Rin sent her to finish that sentence. “OK! Sorry! Back to the plan!” 

"Wait!" Sasuke cried. "The jutsu! C'mon, teach me how you're floating like that!" 

“She’s dead, kid,” Aki said flatly. 

“Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry, but I can't," Rin said. "It’s a kekkei genkai I’m afraid.”

Sasuke slumped his shoulders, his bottom lip sticking out in a pout. "Fine."

He’ll figure out his own way to beat Sakura then.

* * *

Naruto was one of Sakura's best-friends. Sure, he definitely had a crush on her (and she was definitely going to keep preventing him from confessing until he got over his crush), but he was sweet and knew how to have fun. Plus, it was nice to have another friend outside of Ino. After their brief falling out, things were still somewhat rocky as they tried to piece their friendship back together. It didn’t help that the cause of their falling out started to follow Sakura around. Like, everywhere. 

“Itachi-nii said that’s considered damage to public property,” Sasuke said. 

Sakura felt her eye twitch. If that kid followed them around and told them something his brother told him _one more time_ , she would pummel him. How the hell did she not see what a stick in the mud he actually was? How could she have had a crush on him for so long? 

“Shut up, bastard,” Naruto muttered. “You don’t have to be here!” 

“Shut up, dumbass,” Sasuke countered. “I can be wherever I want to be!”

Sakura sighed. "Why are you even here, Sasuke-kun?”

“Tell me what you during kunai practice,” he demanded. After a moment, he bitterly added, "Sparring classes, too." 

“Don’t be such a sore loser, bastard!” Naruto cried. “Sakura-chan’s awesome and she beat you fair and square!” 

“As if,” he scoffed. “There’s no way someone from an unknown clan like yours could beat me fairly. So, what was it? How’d you cheat?” 

Naruto was whooping with laughter when Sakura’s fist met Sasuke’s cheek. The shocked and pained expression on his face was oddly satisfying, but when Sasuke’s father, who turned out to be the Uchiha clan head (funny that), found about the incident and demanded an in-person apology, Sakura regretted her actions immediately. Because her parents were on another long-term out-of-village mission, Sakura's cousins had to come in their place. Her cousins, who were barely teenagers, had to deal with the fall-out of Sakura essentially insulting one of the village's most powerful and notorious clans. Plus, even though Sakura's parents were civilian shinobi, they at least knew enough to manage ninja clan politics. Her cousins weren't as lucky. 

"Stop overthinking things, Sakura-chan,” Arata said, ruffling Sakura's hair. 

“Yeah,” Aki said. “That’s why you have older cousins, to do shit like this. Plus, from what Naruto told us that little prick deserved more than just a punch to the face.” 

Momo, who was up ahead, began to silently sob. Again. Her eyes were actually _sparkling_. Outside of the time Sakura told Momo that she was at the top of her class, she had never seen her older cousin more proud of her then when Naruto explained how she assaulted Sasuke (Naruto, ever the diva, made things more dramatic than needed and even added sound effects much to Momo's pleasure.) Sakura really needed to figure out what her cousin's deal was with the Uchiha.

“You good, Momo?” Arata asked. 

“Give me a second,” Momo said. She slapped her cheeks. “OK. I’m ready. Let’s do it!” 

When they arrived at the compound, they were led into a room where they sat on very uncomfortable mats. Seated in front of them was Sasuke’s family. In the middle sat his Sasuke’s father, Fukagu, was who looked to be a very stern and intimidating man. Flanked on Fukagu’s right was Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, who looked very beautiful and kind. On Fukagu’s left sat Sasuke's older brother Itachi, and Sasuke. 

After about a minute of silence, Fukagu finally spoke. “I expect a full apology from Sakura Haruno.” 

“Right.” Things were moving along smoothly and Sakura almost thought the entire matter would have been handled in less than ten minutes until Momo added, “I expect one from Sasuke-kun, too.” 

There’s a shocked silence. Sakura could see a large vein appearing on Fukagu’s forehead. _Surely,_ he was probably thinking, _this red-haired punk did not think to speak to I, the great clan leader of the Uchiha, in such an uncouth manne_ _r_. OK, so he probably didn’t throw the word uncouth around, and Sakura just barely remembered what that word actually meant, but she was certain he was thinking something along those lines.

“I beg your pardon?” Fukagu asked. Ah, he definitely was then the type to use uncouth. 

“I expect an apology, Uchiha-sama,” Momo said simply. “Your son said some offensive things about our clan, and most importantly insulted Sakura by stating that she was cheating. It’s obvious he needs a lesson on how to treat others with respect.” 

Mikoto had a faraway look in her eyes, kind of like when Arata was thinking about making something. Sasuke’s mouth was hanging open. There’s a very strange look in Itachi’s eyes that Sakura can’t quite place. It took her a minute before she realized it could have bee a twinkle of admiration in the look he was giving her cousin.

“It’s obvious,” Fukagu snipped. “That _you_ ought to be taught some respect, young Haruno. Do you know who are speaking to?” 

Momo rolled her eyes at him and Fukagu’s forehead vein looked like it was going to burst. It was then that Mikoto took reign of the quickly derailing situation.

“Sakura-chan,” Mikoto said. “Do you apologize?” 

“Yes,” Sakura said, bowing her head. “I’m really sorry for, uh, punching Sasuke-kun in the face.” 

“And Sasuke—” Mikoto stopped short, sending her husband a very frightening look before he could even think to cut her off. “Sasuke-kun, do you apologize to Sakura-chan?” 

Sasuke dipped his head. “Sorry for saying you were cheating and that your clan was unknown.” 

“And Momo-chan?” Mikoto gave Momo a smile that promised death. She somehow made it look beautiful. Sakura was in awe. 

“Uh, my sincere apologies for insulting you, Uchiha-sama,” Momo squeaked.

“Very well,” Fukagu said. Only when Mikoto directed her death smile to him did he add: “My apologies as well.”

Mikoto clasped her hands together. “Wonderful! Now how about we have some tea, hm?” 

They were all ushered into another room where tea was served and everyone was trying to make pleasant conversation. Or at least, everyone with the exception of Momo and Fukagu who were engaged in a glaring matching. Sakura watched them while narrating the exchange in a hushed whisper to Arata. 

“Oh, he's smirking at her now. That smirk definitely says: _You foolish and uncivilized Haruno,”_ Sakura whispered, her tone aristocratic. _“Had it not been for my wife, you would have been grovelling on the floor. I am far too important for an insignificant girl such as yourself to speak to me, a man of high such regard, like that.”_

Arata snickered. “Momo's now smiling. That smile definitely says: _I am a moment away from throttling you, you stupid ass ninja man._ _Just because you’re from an old-ass clan doesn’t entitle you to treat people like they’re less than you. Also, can we hurry this up? I am about to throw up from how uncomfortable I feel right now_.” He paused, realizing something. He extended his closed fist toward Sakura. _“You know, you’re getting really good at this language, kiddo. Good job.”_

Sakura beamed at him, bumping his fist with her own. 

Itachi, who had been watching the exchange, approached them. “What is that dialect you are speaking? I don’t recognize it.” 

Instead of answering him, Arata extended his closed fist towards him. "Itachi-san, what’s up?" 

Itachi just looked down at it, not moving to return the gesture in the slightest. He asked his question again.

“It’s, uh, not a dialect,” Arata said, pulling back and scratching his cheek. “It’s a clan thing, I guess?” That sounded more like a question than he intended. 

Before Itachi could ask another question, there was the sound of glass shattering and something large hitting the floor. They are startled to see Momo collapsed on the ground and her tea cup now in pieces. 

“Momo!” 

“What happened?” 

“She suddenly passed out!” 

Momo was knocked out for about five minutes. Itachi was about to carry her to the hospital when she suddenly sprung awake. She looked pale, and her eyes looked unfocused. Almost as though she was possessed—and for a brief moment Sakura believed she was—Momo spat out: " _The Uchiha, with the exception of Sasuke, are going to be slaughtered by Itachi.”_

The room was deathly silent. At the Uchiha's confused expression, Sakura was relieved to realize that the only words they could have likely understood was names Uchiha, Sasuke and Itachi.

Arata and Aki looked sick. Sakura was sure she looked sick, too. Just what on earth was her cousin talking about?

It was Aki who finally broke the silence. “ _What the fuck, Momo?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My theory is that Sakura's intelligence absolutely did NOT come from her father's side.  
> My second theory is that Sasuke is deeply uncool and a stickler for the rules as long as his older brother and father are in his life. 
> 
> Also, thank you all for the kind responses on this dumb fic! I really appreciate it.


	3. A plan, an accident

Sakura's friendship with Ino became something of a mutually beneficial relationship for both of their clans. The Harunos were known for their legendary and extravagant parties, and as such benefited greatly from the access of high quality flowers from the Yamanaka (not to mention most of their wedding, funeral, and birth ceremonies utilized flowers.) Meanwhile, the strange gadgets and tools created by the Harunos—particularly their unique listening devices—made a world of difference for the information gathering work of the Yamanaka clan.

That said, the stress that came with planning for a Haruno wedding and the sheer amount of floral arrangements they requested drove the Yamanaka clan head up the wall. Inoichi Yamanaka truly wondered if the Haruno clan knew the exact time of year when he was understaffed and just told their clan members to not only plan their weddings that week, but to request the most obnoxious orders possible. Really, what kind of person ordered three-hundred small baskets of baby's breath, primroses, and jasmine for their guests? On the week that his entire staff was out with the flu, too. And on the week where suspiciously there were no genin teams available for hire. Inoichi wanted to throttle someone. 

_Wasn't this clan filled with a bunch of weirdos,_ he wondered to himself. _How the hell do they know three-hundred people?_

Inoichi had half a mind to just say fuck it and send them three-hundred yellow carnations like they _deserved_. But business with the Haruno clan was great, and with the way his clan (and let's be real, Ino) burned through money, they were not business he wanted to lose. So, he decided to end Ino's little playdate with her friend Sakura early and get the girl to help him make these godforsaken bouquets. It was probably not good practice to arrive at the home of the relatives of his clients looking stressed, but Inoichi was stretched at this point. 

"Ino-chan, my little rose, let's get going," he said, steering the girl to the door. "We got a big order to finish by tonight." 

"Daddy, I don't want to do that!" Ino whined.

He sighed. "You have no choice in the matter, Ino-chan." 

"Are you okay there, Yamanaka-sama?" asked the Haruno with red curly hair. Outside of Sakura who he saw on a fairly frequent basis, Inoichi really struggled with the names of the rest of the Haruno.

"No," he said. "I have three-hundred small bouquets I need shipped to your clan's compound _tonight._ " 

The dark haired one winced. "That sucks."

The other Haruno tween girl looked at him brightly. "That sounds awesome." 

"Awesome?" Inoichi felt his eye twitch. "You think that's awesome?"

If Inoichi was a lesser man unable to control himself, he would have added: _are you sick?_

"We used to make bouquets all the time when I was a kid," the girl explained. "It was really fun." 

"I can help, too!" Inoichi belatedly realized that the Uzumaki kid was also at the Haruno home. Huh. Right. Rumour had it that the Harunos adopted the boy in all but name, pissing off the many clans that tried to petition for him to become their ward. He had to remember to check his contacts in the Hokage tower to learn more about the situation. It was a surprise that no one came to "kindly suggest" that they leave the Uzumaki alone. 

Ino looked expectantly at Sakura. The pink haired girl fixed a glare at her cousins before spitting out, "I'll help, too."

Huh. Inoichi hated family drama as much as the next person, but if that meant he went from just him and Ino making these bouquets to five more people helping him, he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He quickly led them back to the Yamanaka flower shop.

"Here we are," he said as he led them to the back where he kept the flowers. They made quick work. Even Naruto made some half-decent bouquets after Ino and Sakura made the production into a little game; each one trying to best the other's work. His little Ino, with years of practice behind her, made the best ones and made it a point to say so to Naruto and Sakura. A soft smile graced Inochi's features as he watched them. He was thankful Ino was branching out and making friends that brought the best out of her, not just friends who followed along with her every whim.

He looked over at the Haruno trio who were making some pretty decent bouquets, too. They weren't lying when they said they enjoyed this kind of work. He focused on their hushed whispers, trying to pick up what they were talking about. From their expressions, it seemed to be a serious matter. He furrowed his brows. While he could certainly hear them, he could not decipher a word they were saying. _A code?_ No, these three weren't ninja like Kizashi. In fact, Kizashi was likely the only person in his clan who was a ninja. Plus, he knew that they were enrolled in the civilian school. It also wasn't a heavy dialect, as he knew the clan came from a town not too far away from Konoha. Suddenly they stopped speaking. The one with the short messy red hair approached him. 

"Hey, Yamanaka-sama," she whispered. "You're a adult, right?"

Inoichi blinked at her owlishly. 

"Wait, that was stupid," she admitted. "Look, Sakura hasn't spoken to us in three weeks because of, um, some things she's too young to know about yet. "

Inoichi winced. Ino was at the age where if things didn't go her way, she refused to talk to him. Once, she didn't say a word to him for two weeks. 

"It can be hard." Inoichi's smile was warm. "I mean, I didn't think I'd be raising Ino alone, I can't imagine trying to do that at the age of, what? Fifteen? Even getting her to understand her clan responsibilities—"

"Clan responsibilities," she repeated, sounding awed. 

"Yes." Inoichi blinked. "Clan responsibilities." 

" _I can't believe I've been that stupid, we can just tell her it's a clan thing_ ," she mostly muttered to herself. "Thank you _so_ much, Yamanaka-sama." 

Inoichi wanted to ask what the hell she just said, but she went back to her work with newfound energy. Remembering the amount of orders they still needed to do, he resolved to ask her about it some other time. 

Incredibly, the work only took them two hours. Inoichi thanked them and promised to take them out to eat sometime at an Akichimi restaurant. When they all left, and after he tucked Ino into bed, Inoichi met with the delivery person for the flowers, and then went to the Nara compound.

"Funny story," Inoichi said. "I was with the Harunos tonight. You know the ones who moved in with Kizashi sometime ago?"

Shikaku nodded. 

"I could have sworn," he said. "That they were speaking an entirely different language. I remembered then what you had mentioned all those years ago. It's not a dialect, and it sure as hell wasn't a code. I think you were right, Shikaku. I think they have their own language." 

"The one with dark hair," Shikaku said, after a brief silence. "I saw her running around town once with Sasuke. They were both following Kakashi. The two of them kept referring to an empty space as Rin." 

* * *

Momo would be the first to admit that she truly had no idea how to handle kids. Sure, she made it a point to try to train Sakura the best she could, but at times the experience was like pulling teeth. Worse, it made her realize how little she understood the girl. At first she believed Sakura was a victim of lack of investment from her village, something which any civilian kid with no real ninja connections dealt with. This, for the most part, proved to be true. Investing in Sakura as it related to matters of the mind led to real returns. Once Sakura got hooked on a particular theory, like a true Haruno she would be at it until she could lecture you about it for days. Implementing that theory was another matter. Whenever things went from the theoretical to the practical, it was then Momo was reminded of how much of a kid Sakura could be—a pretty bratty one at times, too. In those moments, Momo was grateful for the presence of her aunt or uncle because at least they held an authority that Sakura respected. When they were gone, like right now, Momo realized just how ill-equipped she was at child rearing and how much she relied on them.

Momo groaned, rubbing her temples. "Sakura, can you just drop it?" 

They had restarted their argument _again._ Momo, trying to get Sakura to train again, Sakura refusing to train until Momo told her what the hell happened that night at the Uchiha compound. Aki and Arata just watched them as they would a TV drama. Momo really hated her cousins sometimes. 

"No!" Sakura cried. "You guys can't just keep leaving me out the loop. I deserve to know just as much as you all do. I'm a Haruno, too. What happened back there?" 

Momo paused, taking a deep breath in. She tried to figure out what her little cousin could be thinking right now. Did Sakura feel left out? Obviously she knew that Aki and Arata knew what was up from their expressions. No, Sakura knew this was something that involved all three of them. Sometimes she hated how perceptive Sakura could be. Damn. Where the hell was auntie Mebuki when you needed her? Then again, Inoichi presented her with a great solution—it was so glaring simple, she really felt like a dumbass to not think it herself. Maybe it would work. 

"Sakura," Momo said gently. "You're still a kid. I didn't really figure out what was going on with our clan until I was at least thirteen." 

"In two year's time I'll be considered an adult!" Sakura narrowed her eyes, turning her attention back to Momo. "You said Itachi-san was going to murder his clan. Why?" 

"Maybe," Aki mumbled to herself, completely tuned out of the conversation. "I'm helping the wrong person seek therapy."

"In two years you'll be an adult, right?" Momo sighed. She felt her heart beating quickly. Would this work? "Sakura, this is an important clan matter that you'll know when you turn thirteen. This is something we all had to wait to get the full story of. There's a reason you need to be of age. I swear, we'll tell you then." 

Sakura frowned. "You swear?" 

_Damn, was this actually going to work?_

Momo nodded.

"You better," Sakura sighed. Then, as if remembering something, she scratched the back of her head. "Thank you, by the way. For, uh, talking to Uchiha-sama for me." 

Momo smiled brightly at her. "That's why we're here, kid." 

* * *

Days later, Momo had another vision. It was so intense she was knocked out for five minutes. Thankfully, it happened as she was getting out of bed so her landing was a soft one. This time the vision involved, well, the end of the world and the destruction of this village. She called for an emergency meeting and pulled Aki and Arata into the tent in the backyard. It was a tight squeeze for all three of them, but they managed. Once settled in, Momo explained her vision. When she got to the part about a man named Obito, Aki stood up suddenly and turned to leave.

“Wait, where are you going?” Momo asked. 

“Wait here, I need to go find Rin,” was all she said before disappearing. 

Momo turned to Arata. “Who’s Rin?” 

He shrugged. Ten minutes later, Aki returned and gestured to the empty spot next to her and introduced it as Rin. 

“Let me get this straight,” Arata said, once Aki finished explaining who Rin was. “You’re trying to find a dead ninja—”

“He’s presumed to be dead,” Aki cut in. "No one found a body.” 

“Ok, so you’re looking for a ninja that is presumed to be dead,” he repeated. “And you’re trying to get one of the most powerful ninja in this village to try therapy.”

“Sasuke’s helping,” she added. “Well, we he was.” 

“Right,” Arata frowned. “No, wait, how is Sasuke involved in this?” 

“He can see Rin,” Aki said. “But he thinks she’s not dead, she just has some kekkei genkai that keeps her floating. Also, he’s, like, a really terrible sore loser. We really need to make sure he doesn't date Sakura, like, ever—Rin, don't look at me like that. I'll explain later.”

“He can _see_ Rin?" Momo asked. 

Aki waved her off. “That’s not the point. Start your story over, I’m pretty sure Rin can help us.” 

Momo started her explaining her vision once again. Twenty minutes into explaining, Aki cut Momo off.

“Rin’s lost again." 

Momo sighed. “OK, where did I lose her?” 

Aki turned toward the empty space next to her. After a beat she said, “The Madara Uchiha part.” 

“OK, so Obito ends up in a cave, right? I don’t really remember how,” Momo admitted. “But in the cave, he’s saved by Madara who is alive because of some plant creature with uh, the first mountain guy’s cells.” 

“You mean the First Hokage,” Arata supplied. 

“Right, the First Hokage,” Momo nodded. “Anyway, the plant guy gives Obito some of those cells, which is how he’s alive. Madara, is acting on the will of the goddess of rabbits—uh, Kaguya, I think. She wants world peace and thinks that his plan of forcing people under a massive genjutsu would accomplish that. Or is that her plan? I don’t remember.” 

“Rin wants to know how does this involve the jinchūriki again?” Aki asked. 

“Right, so Madara and Obito, who is going by Tobi, form a terrorist organization called the Akatsuki,” she explained. “They are collecting the jinchūriki to get the Tailed Beasts out so they can form the Ten Tails and he can, uh, destroy the moon? No, wait, I think he uses their power for that massive genjutsu. There’s something about the moon, though. Oh, and Madara helps Itachi slaughter his clan in exchange for joining this terrorist organization.”

“Why does he do that again?” Arata asked. 

“So, essentially Itachi’s cousin who’s, like, really strong was going to put the entire Uchiha clan under a massive genjutsu—"

"What is up with that clan and massive genjutsus?" Arata wondered aloud. "Is that their solution to everything?" 

"I don't know," Momo shrugged. "Anyway, he's doing that because they were getting pissed up about how prejudicial everyone was being towards them because there’s some rumour that it was an Uchiha who was controlling the Kyuubi when it attacked the village. You with me?” They nod. “Turns out it was Madara controlling it, I think. Anyway, that was the current mountain guy—uh, Hokage's plan, but some elder named Danzo decided to take out Itachi’s cousin and go with his own plan of having Itachi just massacre the Uchiha.” 

"That's so messed up," Arata muttered. 

Aki frowned. “Danzo’s the one who’s taught by that discriminatory Hokage, right?” 

“Yeah!” Momo nodded. “Anyway, Itachi joins Obito’s terrorist organization after slaughtering the Uchiha, with the exception of Sasuke. Oh, and the snake Sannin guy wants Sasuke’s body so he can be immortal. Then, Sasuke abandons the village in the pursuit of power to defeat his brother, then this village gets destroyed, uh, then there’s another massive war, and then Naruto and Sasuke have some big epic fight. And then things turn out fine? A lot of people die, but I think they beat the rabbit goddess, and Sakura has Sasuke’s kid and he, like, abandons her. Naruto becomes Hokage, though. I think before that Kakashi is Hokage for a little bit.” 

Aki smiled at the empty space next to her. “Rin’s happy that Kakashi became Hokage.” 

“Oh, it’s for a shitty reason though,” Momo frowned, trying to remember her vision. “I think the original Hokage fell into a coma or something.” 

“Apologize to Rin,” Aki said sternly. "You made her sad—don't look at me like that Rin, you _do_ look devastated." 

Momo turned toward the empty space next to Aki. She hoped she was looking at Rin’s eyes. “Sorry, Rin-san, but that’s why we need your help. I think we can stop this all with your help.” 

“Wait, so what do you want Rin to do?” Aki asked. 

“Well,” Momo licked her lips. “Rin can move objects around, right? She’s like a _poltergeist_ , right? So we just need her to steal evidence proving that Danzo is trying to kill the Uchiha. Oh, and that he kidnaps children to be part of his underground evil ninja force.” 

"As if it would be that easy," Arata scoffed. “You think this guy is dumb enough to keep documented evidence about his planned atrocities?” 

* * *

Incredibly, Danzo _was_ that dumb, though the reasoning was less straight up idiocy and more so due to the man's arrogance and self-importance. Combined with his twisted view that what he was doing was actually _good_ for the village and his obsession with being just like the Second Hokage, the man actually documented everything he did or planned to do. Whether he thought his plans would be taught in history books, or whether he was so self-assured that no one would ever find out what he was doing, no one knew.

It did take Rin several weeks to find the ROOT base, and even more time to find Danzo’s well-guarded documents. She managed to slip away with the right documents, made copies of them, returned the originals, and left the copies that were made to be found by the Hokage. While Hokage did not quite believe his oldest friend would do something so vile, being the seasoned and paranoid ninja he was, he had some ANBU members keep watch on the Uchiha compound, as well as have Kakashi tail Uchiha Shisui. When his oldest friend eventually confronted and attempted to attack Shisui, Hiruzen made it a personal mission to find out who left those documents for him. 

Meanwhile, ROOT was dismantled for the last time, and Danzo, a once well-respected elder, quietly disappeared.

Even the matter of the Uchiha uprising was resolved quickly with Shisui’s genjutsu.

Kakashi saving Shisui’s life also led to an unexpectedly positive outcome. While signing Kakashi up to therapy sessions did nothing but annoy both him and the therapists he was supposed to meet, Shisui becoming inseparable from the grey-haired ninja created a sort of horse and goat compatibility between them. It did not by any means cure Kakashi of his array of issues (survivor's guilt, PTSD, depression, you name it), but it did certainly stop him from wanting to take a bunch of suicide missions (not that Hokage would allow him to actually go on them anymore.) And for that reason alone, Rin was all the more willing to help the Haruno trio with whatever other plans they had in store.

Needless to say, Arata was horrified that a plan as simple as stealing and copying a couple files managed to work as well as it did.

“We still need to save Obito, though,” Rin reminded Aki. 

Thankfully, they still had a few more years to plan something about how to deal with that. Momo was a bit worried though, as without the Uchiha Massacre she wasn’t sure if things would play out the same way it did in her visions. 

Perhaps the strangest outcome of all was that somehow Itachi became a permanent fixture in the Haruno household. With Shisui still alive, his clan duties and duty to Konoha no longer clashing, he had more free time. This free time somehow became hanging around his cousin, his little brother, and the Haruno household. No one understood it, and Itachi offered no explanation. Rin was the only person delighted by this outcome and immediately suggested they try to get him into therapy, too. 

* * *

A few weeks later to celebrate the summer break, a barbecue was hosted at the Haruno household. Sakura invited both Ino and Naruto, but only the latter was able to make it. Ino had clan duties to attend to, but promised a sleepover for the following week. Sakura, feeling charitable and also wanting to piss off Momo (because said girl had the audacity to spring a particularly brutal training regime on her this week), invited Sasuke who declined. An hour later though, he was at seated the Haruno dinner table after having realized that his older brother was attending the barbecue. No one remembered inviting Itachi (Arata might have nervously used the barbecue as an excuse to get away from Itachi, but he was sure that to most people that wouldn't be taken as an invitation—then again, Itachi was not most people.) In any case, Itachi sat between Aki and Arata, contentedly (well, no one really knew if he was content, not even Sasuke at times) enjoying his meal as he, along with everyone, listened to Naruto recount another one of his prank stories, this one involving his grey-haired ANBU caretaker.

When Naruto was finished, Aki nodded at Sasuke.

“Remember when we tried to get him to go to therapy?" she sighed as if she had just exchanged war stories with the young boy. "I can’t believe he’s your teacher now.” 

Everyone stared at her. Arata and Momo's stare in particular was one that said: _If your stupid ass doesn't shut up right now I'll kill you!_

"Aki-nee," Sakura said slowly. "We aren't being taught by an ANBU operative. Also, _what?_ "

Instead of answering, Aki shrugged and said to Naruto, “Next time, you should totally invite him over for dinner.” 

They all eyed her suspiciously. 

Momo brought her bowl of miso to her lips. “Why?” 

“Yeah,” Naruto said between mouthfuls of rice. “Why?” 

“It’s not a bad idea,” Sasuke muttered. At their shocked stares, he added a defensive, “What? If he's in ANBU, he's elite and he could definitely teach us some skills.” 

“Why are you even here, bastard?” Naruto grumbled. “I thought you were too busy to join us.” 

Sasuke shrugged and looked towards Itachi as his answer. 

“Yeah, because he’s cool,” Naruto said.“And he’s nice, unlike _you._ Right, Sakura-chan?” 

“I’m not involved,” Sakura said simply. “Itachi-san, can you pass me the soy sauce?” 

“I am also curious as to why Aki-san would like ANBU-san to join us,” Itachi said, handing the bottle to Sakura. 

“She thinks he has a great ass,” Sasuke supplied.

Food and drinks were spat out immediately. Momo was choking on her rice. Arata was unhelpfully slapping her back.

“That’s true,” Aki has the gall to not even look ashamed. There was more choking. Momo’s face was turning blue. “But that’s not it. He’s Sakura-chan’s tea—ow, fuck!" Aki stopped short, bending down to clutch her throbbing foot. “Anyway, so I like older men, so what? Sue me." She sent a murderous glare to Arata and moved to slap him. “He’s obsessed with women that can kick his ass!” 

Momo’s spirit was leaving from her mouth. Sakura snatched it before it floated away. 

“Aki-san,” Itachi said in a warning tone. 

Aki rolled her eyes. “They’re twelve, Itachi-san, not five.” 

“Yeah,” Sasuke nodded. “Plus, the dumbass here is the same with his crush on Sakura.” 

Naruto leapt over the table and tackled Sasuke to the ground. The two of them began wrestling on the floor. Sakura, too occupied with putting her cousin’s spirit back inside of her, did not hear Sasuke’s comment. Once brought back to life, Sakura decided to involve Momo in the discussion. 

“Hey, what kind of person do you like, Momo-nee?” Sakura asked. 

Sasuke and Naruto briefly paused their fighting. All eyes were on Momo. She shrugged. “I guess I, uh, like men with long hair?” 

There’s a silence. 

“Isn’t that funny,” Arata chuckled weakly. He, in fact, did not find that to be funny. At all. “Say, Itachi-san, what kind of person do you like?” 

Itachi said nothing.

“I’ll be honest,” Aki said. “I think you aren't capable of finding anyone attractive, Itachi-san.” 

Sasuke looked offended on behalf of his brother. “That’s rich coming from the woman who looks like a ghost.” 

“Hey!” Naruto cried, offended on Aki’s behalf. They resumed wrestling. 

“Wait,” Sakura said, a sudden realization dawning on her. “Is that the reason why _you’re_ obsessed about who _I_ marry? Or don't marry?" 

Arata started choking on his rice. Abandoning Sasuke, Naruto began performing abdominal thrusts on him. 

“What?” Momo frowned, confused. Then she realized what Sakura was implying. When her spirit left her again, this time no one made any move to get it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's easier for Rin to prevent the Uchiha massacre than it is for her to get Kakashi to go to therapy. go figure.
> 
> also: yellow carnations mean disdain and disappointment.


	4. A wedding, a funeral

“You bought a _what_?” Sakura almost dropped her chopsticks. 

It was early morning, the bright morning sun streaming light into the small windows of their kitchen. While school was out for the summer break, Arata and Sakura still kept to their routine of waking up early to prepare and eat breakfast. Arata had even made her bentos to take with her while she trained with Ino and Naruto for the day. But instead of joining her breakfast as he usually did, Arata was getting ready to leave with Aki and Momo. Beyond the bombshell that Arata dropped, seeing Aki awake past noon was another shock.

“We bought a small shop,” Arata repeated. “We’re going to be fixing it up for the next few weeks. It’s going to be a shop to sell some stuff I’ve made, and some of our family recipes. We’re still working out what’ll look like, though. Maybe we could even do tea readings there, too.”

“Well, no,” Momo said. “I think uncle Rui would actually fight us if we opened a tea room outside of the compound.” 

“What?” Sakura stared at them. “When did this happen? How did you even get enough money to open up a shop? Aren’t you too young to be store owners?” 

“Too many questions,” Aki rubbed her eyes tiredly. “Someone turn her off.” 

“We’ve been planning this for like four years now,” Momo said. “Arata’s been making bank selling those little toys to the shops here. I’ve also been saving up from my part-time job.”

“You have a part-time job?” Sakura felt like the room was shifting. “What the hell? Since when?”

“Since I graduated?” Momo flashed her a confused look.

“That was—that was almost _three_ years ago! Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“It never came up?” 

“And you, Aki-nee, what do you do?” Sakura was sounding almost frantic. 

“Me?” Aki yawned. “Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. You know?”

Momo and Arata shared a look.

_You think she’s dealing drugs?_

_I wouldn't put it past her._

Sakura, meanwhile, looked to be on the verge of a breakdown. 

Arata walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, are you OK?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sakura sighed, shifting away from him. “Don’t worry.” 

He did not look convinced. He pulled out a pen and his small notebook and ripped out a page. He quickly scribbled something on it and handed it to Sakura. “This is the address of the shop. Come check it out when you’re done training today, OK?” 

Sakura flashed him what she hoped was a convincing smile. “Sure. Thanks, Arata-nii.” 

On her walk to the training grounds with Naruto and Ino, Sakura was mostly unresponsive. She was replaying this morning’s bombshell in her head. Her cousins always did this to her. She felt like they knew everything about her—hell, even her friends, too. She eyed the three bentos she held in her arms. Arata packed her two additional bentos because he knew Naruto lived alone, and Ino always ate less because of her stupid diet. Did she even know who _their_ friends were? 

Sakura froze. She didn’t. She didn’t know who their friends were, she didn’t know what the hell they studied in civilian school, and she didn’t even know what they did for fun! They lived with her all her life and she felt like she barely knew them. 

“Hey,” Ino’s voice pulled Sakura out of her thoughts. “You OK, Sakura?” 

“What do you guys know about my cousins?” she asked. 

“Uh, they’re weird?” Ino ducked away from Sakura’s approaching fist. “Kidding! Kidding!”

“Oh, uh,” Naruto looked thoughtful. “Oh, Arata-nii is really good at making stuff. He’s also a really great cook!”

Sakura squatted to the ground, her head leaning against the bentos. “They’re opening a shop.” 

“A shop?” Ino squatted down next to her.

Naruto followed suit. “That’s great, isn’t it?” 

“They’ve been trying to open one for years and I didn’t know,” Sakura said miserably. “I feel like I don’t even know them.” 

“Hey, why don’t we forget about training today and go help them out with their shop?” Ino offered. "We can even get them some flowers from my dad's shop!" 

Naruto pumped his fist in the air. “Yeah, c’mon let’s go, Sakura-chan!” 

* * *

The shop the Haruno trio now owned was modest, taking up two stories. Originally, the store was a tea shop. The upstairs portion was an apartment that the previous owners, a sweet elderly couple, lived in. They decided to move to Suna to be with their son who recently had a grandchild. They offered the shop to the Haruno trio for a shockingly good price. It was also located next to the sweet old man that owned what was possibly the best dango the village had to offer, something that sweetened the deal for Arata especially. 

The three Harunos sat in the middle of the shop floor in a circle with floor plans and designs scattered all around them. 

“I kind of feel guilty selling sweets with the dango shop next door,” Momo admitted. “Maybe we can just strictly sell gadgets? I don’t want to impact the old man’s business.” 

“As if people will like the weird shit we eat,” Aki snorted. 

“No, I think Momo has a point,” Arata admitted. “Say, what if we use upstairs as a kind of workshop, then?” 

“I like that idea,” Momo said. 

“We should paint the shop pink,” Aki said suddenly. “The outside of it, I mean.” 

Arata and Momo stared at her. “Why?” 

“You know, after the kid,” Aki said. “As a little homage?”

“I like that,” Arata said. “You think Sakura would?” 

“We can ask her,” Momo said. “Now, what should we call this shop?” 

“You’re opening a shop?” All three of them screamed at the sound of Itachi’s voice. 

“Itachi-san,” Aki grumbled, a hand over her heart. “I almost _died._ You can’t do that to us, we’re civilians!” 

“Hn.” If any of them were capable of deciphering Uchiha modes of expression, they would have noted the almost amused quality to his voice. 

Trying to be amicable, Arata held out his fist to Itachi. “Good to see you, Itachi-san.” 

Itachi stared at his fist. 

“Now, you’re supposed to bump your fist with his,” Aki offered. 

Itachi stared at her. 

Arata retracted his hand. “Uh, what brings you here?” 

“I was next door,” Itachi said. He looked around the shop. “What kind of shop are you opening?” 

All three Haruno exchanged wary glances. 

_Why is he here?_

_I blame you, Arata._

_I didn’t do anything, I’m trying to be polite!_

_Be more firm, you weakass!_

Arata coughed, looking away from Momo and Aki. “It’ll be a gadget shop. So, uh, what brings you here, Itachi-san?” 

“Hn.” 

“Sorry for the intrusion!” Arata almost cried when he saw Naruto, Ino, and Sakura bursting into the store. Inoichi, too, was right behind the trio holding a small bouquet of peonies. He eyed the oddball foursome with a curious look. 

Naruto was already running around the shop, opening up doors and drawers. “Wow! I can’t believe you guys own this whole place!” 

“There’s an upstairs, too,” Arata said, and Naruto was already bolting upstairs, dragging Sakura and Ino in tow. 

“Congratulations,” Inoichi said, holding out the peonies to Momo. “Ino stopped by the shop and told me the news.” 

The three of Harunos shared a look. 

_He wants a discount._

“Thank you,” Momo said, taking the flowers. 

Inoichi looked over to Itachi. “What brings you here, Uchiha-san?” 

“I was actually on my way out,” Itachi said. He nodded at them and disappeared. 

Naruto scrambled downstairs, still dragging Sakura and Ino with him. “This place is really cool! What kind of shop are you guys going to open?” 

“Stop doing that!” Ino smacked him. “But yeah, what he said.”

“Uh, a few things I’ve made,” Arata said. “And maybe some stuff my dad’s products, too.” 

Inoichi perked up at that. The three Harunos shared another look. 

_He definitely wants a discount._

“When do you plan on opening?” Ino asked. 

“It depends,” Momo said. “I think maybe in the next four or so weeks, if we plan things right.” 

“But we’re leaving this weekend,” Sakura said, glitter in her eyes. “Did you account for auntie Nao’s wedding?” 

Sakura was practically buzzing at the prospect of finally properly partaking in a Haruno clan wedding. While births held a certain component of spirituality and decorum, Haruno weddings were just seven straight days boozy, fun-filled partying. From what her older cousins told her, they were the stuff of legends. The last one happened when she was seven and she wasn't able to go because of school. Now with the summer break, she was able to (well, she knew her family wouldn’t let her drink, but she would at least be eat until she got sick and dance the night away.) 

“What wedding?" Inoichi frowned. 

“Uh, auntie Nao. She's getting married this weekend—" Arata broke off suddenly, almost choking on his words. He remembered that auntie Nao, who had the gift of sight, loved using it to mess with people. It was Wednesday right now, and the wedding was on Saturday. She was probably going to spring a ridiculous order of flowers onto Inoichi just to mess with him. She probably already knew he was understaffed. 

Killing intent leaked out of the man. “Haruno-san, please explain quickly.” 

* * *

“I can’t believe Ino’s dad almost murdered us,” Arata muttered. Next to him, Momo nodded. 

“I know something he can murder. My— _ow!_ ” Aki doubled over, clutching her stomach. “Your elbows are weapons of mass destruction, Momo.” 

“Please behave,” Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. “We have guests joining us, you know.” 

Sakura's parents, having requested two weeks off, were already at the compound. The plan was to have Sakura and her cousins arrive during the weekend of the wedding.

Sakura could bring whichever friends she wanted to, and at first she invited Ino but said girl had to partake in a clan ceremony she could not miss. Ino, like Sakura, grew up hearing about the legendary Haruno gatherings and was absolutely livid she would be missing it. She made Sakura promise that she would host the biggest, wildest Haruno wedding whenever she got married. 

It went without saying that Naruto was invited. Also having also grown up hearing about Haruno celebrations, Naruto was ecstatic to be able to finally attend one. Being able to leave the village was a little more complicated than expected in his case. For some reason he had to get clearance from the Hokage to be able to go (perhaps something to do with him technically being a ward of the state? Sakura filed a mental note to look into this further.) He also required an ANBU escort the entire time he was there. 

Sakura snuck a wary glance at the grey-haired masked ANBU escort. Naruto didn’t even know why he had one, he figured all orphaned kids had ANBU operatives watching over them. Sakura definitely needed to look further into it.

Sakura even invited Sasuke, but that was just a courtesy. She knew he would never actual attend. But on the day they were to set off to the small town that housed the Haruno compound, Sasuke, Itachi, _and_ his cousin Shisui were packed and ready to go with them.

“Full offense," Aki said, looking back at the three Uchihas. “But why are you guys here?” 

Shisui laughed, explaining he had some rare time off and that he was curious to see what the fuss was about regarding a Haruno-style celebration. Itachi offered no explanation, and because Itachi offered no explanation, Sasuke offered none, too. 

It took them couple hours to get there, but when they arrived all the non-Haruno guests were surprised by what they saw.

"It's like a rainbow vomited in here!" Naruto cried in awe. 

He wasn't wrong. Each room inside the compound felt like its own little world. No one room was alike, each a completely different style from the next. The same could be said about the clothes worn by clan members. Clan members wore strange, brightly coloured outfits that offered no consistency and no pattern with the exception of Haruno clan symbol adorned somewhere. 

Naruto with his bright outfit and brighter personality fit right in. Some Haruno teens invited him into their tea room, wanting to read his tarot cards. Naruto's ANBU escort, who did not say a word their entire trip, quietly followed after him. Some of the handsy aunties, enamoured by the exotic looks of Shisui and Itachi, all but dragged the two of them into their tea room to give them free tea readings about their love lives. Arata, afraid for their dignity, followed closely behind. That left Sasuke, feeling very out of his element. He tried to stick closely to Sakura, but she along with Momo disappeared in search of Sakura's parents.

“Looks like it’s you and me, duck-butt,” Aki said, slinging her arm around his shoulder. 

Sasuke shrugged her off. “Shut up! My hair does not look like that!” 

“Uh-huh,” she rolled her eyes at him. “Anyway, let me show you to your room.” 

Sasuke was a little relieved at least one Haruno was being a decent host. He picked up his bags, and followed her. Each Haruno they passed was dressed even stranger than the next. Finally, he had to ask what the hell was up with their clan. 

Aki stared at him from over her shoulder with a smile that too much teeth. "Clan secret." 

Sasuke shuddered, but not because he was scared (though Aki was certainly a little creepy when she smiled like that.) The air suddenly felt cold. Up ahead, he noticed a woman floating down the hallway. 

“I thought Rin-san had a kekkei genkai,” Sasuke said. 

“Uh, she does,” Aki said a little too quickly.

“Is she a Haruno?” 

“What?" Aki frowned. "Why?” 

“Well, why does that woman have her kekkei genkai then?” Sasuke pointed at a woman who, now that they were a little closer, looked suspiciously like her auntie Rie.


	5. Something known, something unknown

It went like this: when Sasuke first saw Rin floating, naturally he thought she was using a strange new jutsu. When it turned out to be her bloodline limit, he forgot about it entirely. After all, it wasn't something he could learn and prove to his father that he could be a genius in his own right (just like Itachi). He moved onto other things and tried his hand at reclaiming the top spot of his class overall and not just among the boys (he failed.)

A few weeks later, strange things began to happen. He felt something watching him. Things would appear in the corner of his eye and when turned to look, he would see a hazy spot. When he blinked, it would disappear.

A few months later, he began to hear things. A voice calling to him. A wail in the middle of the night. The compound started to become unbearable some nights. He resorted to sometimes going into Itachi's room because he would only hear these sounds when he was alone. He offered Itachi no explanation, and thankfully his brother didn't push him. Sasuke feared he was going crazy, and it was something he knew to never bring up to anyone in his clan, even his own brother (because if there was one thing his clan resolutely refused to speak about, it was any matters of mental illness.) Then suddenly like the hazy spots, the sounds went away. 

Of course, it wasn't when he stepped into the Haruno compound that he remembered that that damned girl told him. Nor did he remember it when he saw that floating woman down the hall. It was only when he was lying in bed that night that he remembered what she had first told him.

_"She's dead, kid."_

* * *

“I think I need glasses,” Aki mused. Well, she shouted that because they were all in the main dining area of the compound for breakfast and it was havoc with almost all members of the Haruno clan and their guests present. It was hard to hear anything with everyone loudly speaking to one another—all thankfully in the same language. She didn't know who provided the memo (likely uncle Kizashi) but she was thankful. Dealing with the Uchihas _and_ Rin's teammate (she was 100% sure that was who was Naruto's ANBU escort, she knew that ass anywhere) snooping around about their clan's eccentricities was one headache she didn't want to handle. 

”You need _what_?!” Momo shouted back. 

Aki frowned at her. _Ugh._ She needed to warn her about her dead mother being at the compound before one of their well-meaning (but ultimately wrong) aunties or uncles tried to have them reunite. Then again, if auntie Rie was back why didn’t anyone tell them about it? She pinched the bridge of her nose. She hated family drama so much. 

“Never mind,” Aki sighed. She got up, taking her plate and chopsticks to the kitchen. As large as the compound was, the clan refused to have any outsiders come in and clean it. No, it was an unstated rule that all members had to clean up after themselves. If they didn't, somehow one of the elders would find out and, well, let's just say you _don't_ want an elder to find out. She spotted one of the more gossipy aunts already at the sink cleaning her own dishes. 

"Yo, auntie Yuri," Aki greeted. 

"Is that little Aki?" Yuri placed a wet kiss on Aki's cheek. "My how you've grown! How are you doing?" 

"I'm good," Aki smiled, subtly wiping at her cheek. "Say, auntie Yuri has anyone seen auntie Rie's ghost over the years?" 

"Oh heavens no," Yuri clucked, stepping away from the sink and putting her cleaned dishes onto the drying rack. "It's a shame, too. We all want to know what happened to her. It would certainly make finding her killer easier. You know, maybe she'll turn up this summer. It's about that time of year again where you never know who turns up, y'know?" 

"I see. Thanks, auntie!" Aki began washing her own dishes. Once her dishes were cleaned, Aki bid Yuri farewell and headed outside. She needed to clear her head.

"You OK, Aki-nee?" Aki jumped at the sound of Sakura's voice. Damn, she was getting good at appearing out of nowhere. Maybe she would put a bell on Sakura or something.

"Yeah, what's up, kid?" 

"You just looked upset during breakfast."

Aki shrugged. "I'm good. It's just too early." 

"OK," Sakura looked down at her feet. "Um, Aki-nee?" 

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking about earlier this week with you and Arata-nii and Momo-nee opening that shop," she began. "And I realize I don't really know you guys. I....I really want to fix that, Aki-nee. I—" 

_Oh sweet Gods above._ It was too damn early to be dealing with this shit. Aki loved Sakura—hell, she even changed the kid's diapers (OK, no, she made Momo do it, but she was there as morale support.) But she did not have the time or emotional capacity this early in the day to deal with _feelings._ Not when their dead aunt was frolicking about somewhere and—oh fuck, and the Uchiha kid! It was almost the heat of summer and the place would be crawling with ghosts. Another headache for her to worry about. Great. 

"Kid, you're basically my baby sister, and I would literally die for you," Aki said, cutting her speech short. "Even Arata doesn't know a lot of things about me, and he's my twin. It's fine, really."

Sakura still looked upset. 

"I promise we'll hang out more," Aki added quickly. "I'm kind of, uh, involved in some things right now. Once I get it sorted, it'll be just you and me. I'll even teach you how to stitch small wounds up." She paused. Did Rin even know how to do that? Wait, yeah, she knew the Mystic Palm Technique. The real question was did Aki have the brain cells to be able to explain to Sakura how that shit worked? "I promise."

"Do you swear?" 

Aki gave her a flat look. "Sakura." 

"Love you, Aki-nee," Sakura said, pulling her into a hug. 

Aki ruffled Sakura's hair. "You too, kid." 

When Sakura ran off to go find Naruto, Aki sighed. _Right._ Her situation at hand. She had to figure out how— 

"Hey!" 

_Oh hell no._

Aki turned around to see Sasuke making his way towards her. Last night he had asked why auntie Rie was using the same "jutsu" as Rin. What did she do again? Right, she just walked away (well, ran away) from him and avoided him the rest of the night and most of this morning. Could she run away from him again today? No, he was too close now, and likely faster than her. God, she really hated ninja. 

"Hey," Aki said before he could say anything else. "You want to solve a family mystery with me?" 

"What? Why would I do that?" 

"Because you're insufferable and no one else likes you?" Aki managed to duck away from his fist. "I mean, because I'll pay you." 

"I don't want money," he said. "I want answers."

"Deal." 

* * *

Kakashi was not having a good time. Nothing his life ever went the way he intended. First, there was the mystery of that creepy Haruno child setting him up with various therapists (how she got his contact information, he did not know, and each time he tried to give her a little scare to leave him alone, she would mysteriously make herself scare, and despite his tracking skills, he could never find her.) Second, was the Uchiha kid (he was possibly the worst outcome out of the whole Danzo ordeal. He was truly someone Kakashi could not escape, whether he liked it or not.) Third was this mission. Sure, Kakashi practically begged the Hokage to let him be Naruto's security detail, but that was so he could get away from Shisui for a while. And yet, here was Shisui. Harassing him. 

"And you know, I really thought he was kind of like a robot, you know?" Shisui said. What the boy was talking about, Kakashi had no idea. "But then he started hanging out with a lot of girls lately, especially Izumi-chan. You think they're dating, senpai? He refuses to tell me about it, can you believe that? My baby cousin used to tell me everything before!"

Kakashi rolled his visible eye. 

Then there was the separate problem of Naruto. How the Hokage allowed the kid to actually leave the village was beyond him. Sure, Kakashi was a seasoned and well-trained ninja, and sure Itachi and Shisui being present might relieve any worries, but still he had to wonder.

"Senpai, look at that," Shisui said suddenly, gesturing towards Sasuke and the Haruno teen. Perhaps on this mission he could finally shake or scare some sense into the girl into leaving him alone (and he could find out how she managed to get his address, phone number, and other personal details.) 

"Oh shit, obaa-chan!" The girl waved widely at the empty space—no, that wasn't quite right. It was an empty space, yes, but somehow it wasn't. "Long time no see! I thought you passed on!" 

There's a pause and the girl gestured towards Sasuke. ""Aw, well, this is Sasuke. He's my son." 

Shisui snorted. Kakashi sighed. 

" _What?_ " Sasuke glared at her. "You're not—"

They both look at the empty spot, the girl grinning widely, and Sasuke frowning. 

"But I'm not—"

"Thank you, obaa-chan," the girl ruffled Sasuke's hair. He slapped her hands away. "He's a little rascal though. Takes after his father in that way." 

"You're too young to even—" Sasuke broke off, listening to the empty _something_ that was before them. 

The girl shook her head. "Sorry, obaa-chan, but I'm only here for auntie Nao's wedding. I'm outta here before then. By the way, obaa-chan, have you seen auntie Rie around here? We saw her last night. We want to give our greetings to her."

There's another pause. Kakashi could definitely feel a presence there now when he honed in on it. 

"Awesome! We'll definitely say hello. Thanks, obaa-chan!" The girl suddenly nudged Sasuke. In a low voice she hissed. "Say goodbye to your grandmother." 

"But that isn't even—don't touch me!" Sasuke elbowed her. After a moment he added, "Anyway, was that it? Was that your family mystery?" 

"No," the girl said, linking their arms. She steered him towards the forest behind the compound grounds. "Didn't you hear Obaa-chan? She said she's in the forests. Let's go!"

"Let go of me!"

Shisui and Kakashi exchanged looks.

_What the hell?_

"Well, senpai, there's only one way to find out," Shisui said with a grin, taking off the direction the two went. 

Kakashi did not like that smile on his face, but he still followed after him. Sasuke and the girl went deep into the forests, stopping only until the reached a large pond. Kakashi and Shisui stood on top of the branches of a large tree nearby. While likely neither Sasuke nor the Haruno could sense them, they both still hid their chakra signatures. 

"There's a lake here?" Sasuke eyed the area with wide eyes. 

The girl snorted. "This is a pond, dumbass." 

"Don't call me a dumbass, you dumbass!" 

"Anyway, you wanted answers, right?" she said. "Here's an answer: for some reason you can see ghosts."

Shisui flashed Kakashi a startled look from his branch. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. 

"Ghosts?" Sasuke repeated, incredulous. "Are you crazy?" 

"Obaa-chan died when I was seven," the girl said. "And she floats. Plus, she literally had a hitaikakushi on her head. She is a textbook ghost if there ever was one." 

Sasuke blinked. "She did?"

"Yes, dumbass," she rolled her eyes. "Don't ask me why some of them have them and others don't, I have no clue. Anyway, you've probably started seeing more of them right?" 

Sasuke nodded. 

"Between August and September is when the barrier between living and dead gets weakened," the girl explained. "That's probably why you're starting to see and hear more them. Also, if you're around water, you'll likely find more of them. Something to do with the natural properties of water that strengthen your ability to see and hear the dead." 

"Can I stop seeing them?" Sasuke asked. "Why can I even see them in the first place? Why can _you_ see them? Can you hear them, too? How do I stop hearing them, it's really annoying—" 

The girl held up her hand. "Yes to the first one. It might have to do with your clan's dojutsu to the second one. It's a clan thing to the third one. Yes to the third one. Yes to fourth one." 

"But I haven't even activated my sharingan yet!"

"Oh, you haven't?" the girl frowned. "I'll look into that, but first be quiet for a second. I think I can feel auntie Rie approaching." 

"Why am I even here?" Sasuke grumbled. "Can't you meet your aunt by yourself?" 

"Well, she was murdered," the girl said, shivering. "I'm not going to meet her ghost alone! Are you crazy? What if she's got bad energy because the way she left this world made her bitter?" 

Kakashi could see Shisui shifting in the corner of his eye. He looked over at the teen and shook his head. 

"Not yet," he mouthed. 

The girl and Sasuke suddenly scream and Kakashi almost leaped off the branch, but he doesn't when he saw nothing around them. Yet, the two were turned around to face an empty space.

Kakashi heard Shisui take a sharp intake of breath. When he looked over the teen, his eyes, now activated with the sharingan, were staring at the empty space that Sasuke and the girl were staring at. Kakashi lifted his headband, and sure enough he could see a fuzzy outline of a floating body with his own sharingan. It was pure spirit energy. Suddenly he wished he had the Hyuuga's dojustu in his arsenal. 

"Auntie Rie!" the girl cried out. Her eyes are misty. "Are you OK? What's going on? Why haven't you come back until now?" 

The two of them are quiet for a long time as they regard the spot. When the girl whispered the name Obito, Kakashi flinched. 

"Senpai!" Shisui hissed. "Wait!" 

But Kakashi was already in front of the girl. Ignoring her scream, he seized her by the shoulders. "What did you just say?" 

* * *

Naruto was having the time of his life. His first time outside of the village and it was with Sakura and her family! And they actually liked him! Well, they were super weird, but still! They liked him! He was so glad to be able to come here. Sure, it only took him three days of constantly begging the old man to let him leave, but it paid off. And what was that about anyway? Why couldn't Naruto leave the village? Sure, he was an orphan and still technically a minor, but still! 

The only downside was that he wasn't spending as much time as he wanted with Sakura. Plus, the bastard was here, too. What was up with that? Didn't he refuse Sakura's offer? Why did he even come? 

Naruto looked at Arata as he complained further about the Sasuke situation. He paused, realizing the older boy had the blank look on his face again. Over the years Naruto came to learn that look meant that Arata was thinking hard about some weird thing he was planning on making. Sometimes that meant something really, really cool. Usually it was something boring, but useful. 

"Arata-nii," Naruto said, nudging him. He suddenly realized this look was a little different from Arata's usual blank stare. He looked kind of sad. "Hey, are you listening, Arata-nii?" 

"What?" Arata blinked. "Oh, sorry, Naruto. I spaced out there, huh?" 

"What's the matter?" 

"It's nothing." 

Naruto gave him the look that Sakura would make at him whenever he tried avoiding talking about his feelings and stuff. 

"Jeez, when did you get so grown up?" Arata chuckled. "Usually it's the other way around, you know." 

Naruto gestured for him to continue.

"It's just," Arata paused, trying to find his words. "It's just, ugh, I don't know. This clan can be a bit too much sometimes. I love them, don't get me wrong. But they just make me feel so inadequate sometimes." 

Naruto rubbed his chin sagely. So it looked like he wasn't alone in thinking that he wasn't enough sometimes, too. Usually he had Sakura smack the upside of his head and tell him that wasn't it, it was that he wasn't putting in his all. It almost felt nice to know that even the people he admired sometimes felt like they weren't enough. 

"You know my dad designed his compound himself?" Arata said. 

"What? That's so cool!"

"Yeah, he's a real genius. All the stuff he's made over the years brought ninja clans as our main customers." 

"Oh, you mean like Ino's clan?" Naruto said. 

"Yeah, them, and a few others," Arata said. "What he did for our clan was substantial. Everyone expects the same from me, too. But no matter what I've made, it always feels like it's not enough."

"Hey, you make really cool stuff!" Naruto countered. "And boring stuff, too. Plus, isn't your dad super old? Sakura-chan always says you don't become an expert over night, y'know? You gotta work really, really, _really_ hard and do your absolute best! And you can't ever give up either, Arata-nii!" 

"Thanks, Naruto." Arata chuckled and ruffled his hair. "You know, you should consider becoming a therapist." 

"Huh? Therapy?" 

"Yeah, you basically do therapy no jutsu on people all the time." 

"What?" 

* * *

Elder Hiroshi was an old man with a relatively simple routine: he cared for the gardens of the Haruno compound, he drank tea with his twin brother Hiraku, and he liked to talk to clan members about their strange visions of music, books, and movies that did not exist. Occasionally they would get stuck on a word that they did not necessarily know how to translate into their shared language. They, like the rest of the Haruno, had no names for their language, they just remembered how to speak and write it. No clan member had an answer for that strange occurrence.

On rare occasions, like when there was a birth or wedding taking place, Hiroshi and his brother liked to smoke together. They smoked from a water pipe, a unique contraption made by their great-nephew Akemi. The water pipe had two hoses, one for Hiroshi and the other for Hiraku to smoke out of it. It was the only kind of pipe they could use to smoke Hiraku's specially made sweetened and flavoured tobacco.They did not have a name for the machine, nor a name for the tobacco mixtures. The words for it were always on the tip of their tongues. 

Today, they were smoking a tobacco mixture that had a mint flavouring. They discussed one of the guests that their great-nieces and great-nephew had brought to the compound. Since his arrival, he stuck to them like glue. They would have never noticed if Elder Haru, now a ghost, told Hiraku about him. 

“Young man, you are very welcome to join us down here,” Hiraku finally said. "I assure you we don't bite."

There was a brief silence, almost as though the young man was surprised to have been detected. Eventually, the young man appeared before them. 

Hiroshi gave him an unimpressed look. "Young man, that stoic look won’t do you any favours.” 

“Hiroshi, leave the poor child alone,” his brother chided. Turning to the young man, Hiraku smiled at him. “What can we do for you?” 

"I apologize for the intrusion," the young man said. "I am curious about your clan. It is very," he stopped there, struggling to find the right word. After a moment he finally said, "It is very unique."

"Now, boy, if I was to ask you about _your_ clan and its secrets, let's say _this,_ " Hiroshi pointed at his eye. "Now, tell me, how would you feel?" 

The boy was silent.

"We may be a civilian clan," Hiroshi continued. "But we are not at liberty at sharing these—what was the term you used? Ah, yes, unique qualities." 

Hiraku hummed as he took a long drag from his pipe. He blew out small smoke rings into the air. After a beat of silence, he regarded the boy. 

"You ought to leave soon, child," he said, his eyes settling on the boy's chest, noting the way it expanded when he inhaled. "All this smoke isn't good for your lungs."

Hiroshi chuckled when the boy disappeared. "What happened to leaving the poor child alone?" 

"A push in the right direction can't hurt anyone, can it?" 

* * *

When all three (wait, when did Shisui get here?) of them look to Aki for an explanation, she swore she could taste death. It kind of tasted salty—oh, no, that was her sweat she was tasting.

"Obito's her husband!" Aki could not tell if she was shrieking, but her voice definitely sounded several octaves higher than normal. "That's auntie Rie's deadbeat husband! What's that? You want us to find him? For Momo?" 

_"What?"_ Rie frowned at her. "No, he—" 

"I swear to you auntie Rie, I'll find that bastard!" Aki was definitely shrieking at this point. She really needed Rie to leave, and to leave _now._ She felt something in her veins—no, it felt deeper than that—burning. She lifted her arm and suddenly Rie is gone. 

_Damn, should I just pass out?_ Aki thought miserably. That usually got Momo out of questions whenever her gift of sight got her deep into shit. She looked down at the ground. The grass looked soft. She should totally pass out. Aki found a comfortable patch of grass and curled herself up in the fetal position.

After a beat of silence, it's Sasuke who finally asked, "What are you doing?" 

"I'm passing out," she informed him. 

"Please stand up, Haruno-san," Shisui said in a gentle voice. 

"Leave me here to die," she said.

"Aki? Aki, are you alright? What's going on?" That was a girl's voice. _Wait._ That was—

"What are you doing here, Ri—?!" 

Aki leapt to her feet and put Sasuke in a chokehold before he could say anything else. "Wow, look! It's getting real late, huh? " 

Kakashi placed his hand on her shoulder. "No, I'm going to need you to explain yourself. Quickly." 

_What the hell was up with these ninjas and their need for quick explanations?_ Aki wondered. 

Aki released Sasuke, who gave her a death glare. She flashed him a look that said, _Do not bring up Rin. If you do, I won't explain shit to you._

She almost cried when he gave her a curt nod, and then she immediately frowned. If he could understand her looks there she was clearly hanging around the kid too much. Yikes. 

"Alright, K—uh, Naruto's babysitter," Aki began. "I can, uh, see spirits. It's a clan thing. This kid can also see spirits, I don't have a real answer as to why. My aunt, who was murdered, wants me to do something for her so she can finally pass on. It has to do with her deadbeat husband, a man named Obito. Satisfied?"

Kakashi released his grip on her shoulder. "Let's go, Shisui." 

Shisui nodded, pulling Sasuke along with him. 

When Aki could no longer hear their footsteps, she finally looked at Rin. In a low voice, she asked, "Are they still there?" 

"No." Rin said after a moment. "What happened?" 

"What are you doing here?" 

"I followed you guys." 

"How did I not notice that?!" 

"You tend to not notice most things, Aki," Rin said flatly. 

Aki put her face into her hands and groaned. "You're right." 

Rin placed a hand on her shoulder."What happened?" 

"So, you know how you think, uh, your other teammate is still alive?"

* * *

Momo guessed that the only recognizable portion of the wedding to their Konoha guests was the ceremony at the temple. After that, they likely had no semblance of an idea about what was happening when it came to the reception. The moment the group began making their way back to the compound from the temple, it was as though the entire town was celebrating with the Haruno compound. The older women of the clan led the parade of people, drumming loudly and singing. The group danced through the streets of the town until they reached the compound. 

They led the bride and bride and groom into separate rooms to get changed. Nao was changed into a long, silky dress adorned in gold. Her fingertips were dyed in a red dye, and intricate floral designs decorated her hands and feet. Her now-husband, Takeshi, wore a white tunic, baggy, long pants caught at the ankle, and a short, rounded cap. His fingertips were also stained in a red dye. 

One thing about a Haruno wedding was the outfit changes. Generally, most clan members adhered to either a Buddhist or Shinto wedding ceremony. Occasionally, a clan member would opt for one of the many ceremonies and rituals unique to their clan. All clan members ensured that the reception adhered to some sort of practice unique to the clan, whether that was through the outfits worn, the makeup, the foods, the music, or the dancing. The variety had always surprised Momo. No one wedding was ever the same.

Momo pulled on a bright green light-weight, loose-fitting gold patterned glittering ankle-length robe. She wrapped her green shawl loosely around her shoulders. Sakura sported a similarly designed garment, hers was a gold patterned glittering soft pink. Aki, of course, wore a silver and black robe.

As they exited their room, Momo frowned as she watched Aki. Since yesterday the girl was jumpy and looked even paler than usual. There was definitely something up with her, but any time Momo tried to corner her to check in with her, she would mysteriously vanish. She resolved to bother her when they got home.

"You look great!" Sakura smiled when she saw Naruto. Naruto, as well as Arata, were both dressed in outfits similar to groom, although theirs were a light orange and pale blue, respectively. 

Naruto was beet red. "Thank you! You look really pretty, Sakura-chan."

Sakura jokingly did a dramatic pose. "Thanks!" 

Momo could feel tears brimming her eyes. If only her sweet, sweet Sakura could end up with this ball of sunshine instead of the disaster that was Sasuke. Momo balled her hands into fists. She would stop it. She would definitely stop that mess. 

"Momo-nee you're being creepy again," Sakura warned.

Momo sighed forlornly and adjusted her shawl. "You guys ready?" 

"Wait," Arata said. "Where's Sasuke-kun? And Itachi-san, Shisui-san, and K—uh, ANBU-san?" 

"What are you wearing?" They all turned to see the missing group in question staring at them in confusion. 

"What are _you_ wearing, bastard?" Naruto shot back. 

"Did no one tell them?" Arata frowned. "Uh, we don't really wear kimono to the reception. Well, uh, I guess it depends on who's getting married. Some do the traditional ceremonies that happen, others, uh, do this instead."

"You think auntie Yuri would have some outfits their size?" Momo suggested. 

"Too late," Arata said, nodding at the crowd that was forming ahead of them. The bride and groom were being lifted up and carried to the main hall of the compound where they seated at the head of the room in golden ornate thrones. The music died down and soon toasts were made. Afterwards, the music ramped up. The bride and groom danced first, before everyone took to the dance floor to dance with them. Some older clan men even lifted the groom and tossed him into the air a few times. When Arata got some uncles to toss Naruto into the sky she almost cried at the look of joy on his face. It was truly a wonder how the kid managed to not come out of his situation angry and bitter.

When she got tired of dancing, Momo found an empty seat next to Sakura who was staring at her drink with a serious expression. 

Momo narrowed her eyes at Sakura's glass. "What are you drinking?" 

"N-nothing!" Sakura squeaked, jumping out of her seat and scampering to the far corner of the room where Sasuke stood alone.

Unconvinced, Momo kept a close eye on her. She wouldn't have been surprised if one of the so-called "fun" uncles swiped her an alcoholic drink for her to try. Then again, the girl was going to become a legal adult in a few months. Momo sighed, leaning back into her chair. She kicked her shoes off. Shit would really hit the fan then. Were they even ready for all that? Not to mention there was the matter of her m— 

"Your clan is very strange." Momo looked up and saw Itachi sliding into Sakura's seat. 

"Uh, thanks?" Momo frowned. "I think?"

There was an awkward silence. Momo looked to the dance floor, where a dance battle between a couple of her cousins was in full swing. She felt her palms grow sweaty. She really, really hated silences, especially with people she barely knew. Plus, something about the look in Itachi's eyes told her that he was beginning to piece things together that he certainly had no business figuring out. 

"May I ask you a question?" 

Momo glanced at him. "Uh, sure?" 

"Your cousin," Itachi said, inclining his head to where Aki was chatting idly with an auntie by the food table. "She said that Sasuke can see spirits." 

Momo raised a brow. "Oh?" 

_Aki, you complete and utter dumbass,_ she thought miserably. _I am going to kill you, unless Itachi kills me first._

"At first I thought of that to be unlikely," Itachi said, his voice dropping so low that Momo almost struggled to hear him. "But a few months ago, Sasuke could not sleep alone for some time. He never explained the reason to me. And yesterday some elders in your clan made reference to something about myself that—" 

"That no one else should know, right?" Momo finished for him. 

He nodded, staring into her eyes, almost as though he could find the answers swimming in there. So she sighed and led him into an empty tea room and began explaining that Haruno clan members considered themselves to be a clan of people bestowed with four gifts: the gift of sight, the gift of sound, the gift of touch, and the gift of taste. Some clan members saw spirits or saw visions of the future, which they called the gift of sight. Those that were capable of speaking in strange tongues unfamiliar to anyone except their fellow clan members had what they called the gift of sound. Those who conceived of and created otherworldly tools, clothes, or gadgets had the gift of touch. Finally, those who made foods unlike anything else in all the Great Lands had the gift of taste. 

"A kekkei genkai?" Itachi asked. 

"Sure," Momo said with a shrug. It definitely wasn't that given the diversity of their gifts, but she wasn't going to correct him. "I guess you can call it that. We don't, uh, use them to kill, though. We aren't allowed." 

He nodded. 

"You can't tell anyone about this," Momo said. "And, uh, Aki's the one to bother if you have questions about Sasuke being able to see spirits. It's definitely not something exclusive to our clan, but it's certainly a strange thing to see in a clan that already has a kekkei genkai." 

"Thank you," he said. 

Momo sighed. "No worries." 

Then after a minute of unbearable silence, he leaned forward and poked her forehead. It was incredibly painful. Wincing, Momo put a hand on her forehead and could feel a bump beginning to form. Itachi blinked once, then disappeared. 

"What an awkward guy," she muttered to herself. He was a genius yes, but man _,_ he did not know how to interact with non-geniuses his own age. She rubbed her throbbing forehead. Or civilians for that matter.

Returning to the wedding reception, Momo made her way to the drinks. She frowned when her eyes found Sakura and Sasuke. Momo squinted at them. They were awfully close. A little too close, actually. Why were their faces red? Why the fuck was Sasuke leaning closer to and—

"Sakura!" Momo shouted, satisfied when they both jumped. Wait. She narrowed her eyes at the way the two stumbled away from each other. Were they drunk? Oh she was going to kill someone.

* * *

When they returned back home, they decided to go to an Akimichi restaurant for dinner (thankfully, the Uchiha trio had decided to retire back to their compound, and Kakashi had disappeared the moment they arrived at the border crossing). Aki declined, explaining that she was still not feeling well. She sat in her room with Rin until she saw them leaving from her bedroom window.Then they made her way into Momo's room.

"If I was hiding something, where would I put it?" Aki mused aloud. 

Rin floated around nervously. "I don't feel comfortable doing this." 

Aki snorted. "But you're cool with stealing super secret ninja documents?" 

"That's different, and you know it," she countered. 

"It's fine," Aki said. She checked underneath the bed, while Rin checked the drawers and the closet. Finding nothing there, Aki paused and stared at the carpet in the middle of the room. She lifted the carpet and started feeling the floorboards underneath. Aki gave Rin a look.

"Momo wouldn't be as lame as to hide shit underneath the floorboards of her room, would she?" she wondered.

She felt a floorboard wiggle. 

"Oh sweet Gods she _is_ ," Aki muttered mostly to herself, pulling out two large wooden boxes. "What a dweeb— _oh shit._ " 

Inside the boxes were papers upon papers of theories, photographs, and other shit related to the murder of auntie Rie. Her and Rin leafed through the documents. Most of it was written in their clan's language, but there were some documents that weren't and when Aki found those documents she handed them to Rin to read. When Rin asked it was a code, Aki just shrugged. She was thankful Rin didn't push. 

Aki sighed. She imagined Momo, aged 10, posting all of this on a board while she went on a conspiratorial rant about her mother's murderer. After all this time, their entire clan thought that Momo was just trying to bury the trauma of losing her mother by pretending it never happened. Wait until they saw she actually tried coping with it through—

"Shit."Aki's eyes land on a particularly damning theory that Momo wrote out. She felt a headache coming on. 

"What is it?" 

Aki really, really, hated family drama. 

* * *

"I trust your mission went well?" Hiruzen asked. 

"Yes, Hokage-sama. No one detected me." 

"And what have you learned about that clan?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone this chapter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0rh5UxuTts  
> i know the pacing for this thing is pretty quick, so i hope the tone shift wasn't too abrupt and dramatic!  
> also omg this is all unbeta'd so apologies if there's any errors!


End file.
